Touch The Earth
by SapphoSensei
Summary: Answering a wrong number in the middle of the night can change your life forever. So can a run in your stockings. As mysteries and dangers start to present themselves, will they be able to save each other while finding love? More info inside. Nanofate / AU
1. Chapter 1: The Phone Call

_Italics_ - thoughts

**Bold first sentence** - Each chapter of this story will begin with a randomly chosen 1st sentence from a book in my bookcase.

Chapter 1: First sentence is from: Paul Auster - City of Glass

Disclaimer: I do not own or have rights to any book quote used or MGLN.

Rated T

A/N: This story is an exercise because I do not write stories - but as I have enjoyed reading some great fanfic at this site, I thought I should step up to the plate so to speak. To help me since I had absolutely no idea what to write - and still do not - I decided to set up a structure. 10 chapters. !000 words each. I will start each chapter with a random first sentence from a book a friend selects from my bookcase. Before a new random sentence is selected, I will complete the current chapter. Each newly selected 1st sentence will guide what will happen in that chapter. My job will be to weave together this mosaic as I go along. Lets find out together what kind of story this will be. Hopefully I won't fall flat on my face!

As it is my first I will gladly look forward to constructive criticism, and story development ideas in your reviews.

Thank you!...

Chapter 1: The Phone Call

3:36 a.m.

**It was a wrong number that started it, the telephone ringing three times in the dead of night, stirring her groggily from her sleep, she fumbled, dropped the phone, then finally picking it up, placing it to her ear, and the voice on the other end asking for someone she was not.**

" ... " the voice on the phone murmured. She almost didn't hear it. She certainly didn't catch the name that had been urgently whispered through the phone and into her ear.

"Who...? Wha...? Um... no, sorry, you have the wrong number" she replied, her voice still sleep filled, her mind not fully clear yet. Only the dim lights of the city seeping though the cracks around her window shades illuminated the room she had just been asleep in. She reached and pushed her long blonde hair back from her face.

" It doesn't matter, there is no more time. It'll have to be you." The voice whispered, the tone harsher and more rushed. " The event will happen in three days. There will be only one warning, a sign that all is not as it seems will reveal itself to you by sunrise today. You must..."

"What?" She interrupted the voice. More awake now, she felt annoyed that the person on the other end of the phone did not understand that they had dialed the wrong number. "I said you have the wrong number, and it's the middle of the night!"

"I heard you", the voice on the other end of the phone became more insistent raising slightly in volume, "but there is no helping it as I am out of time, and out of options, so I am giving the message to you. This is life or death, you, me, everyone." There was a brief pause, then a morose chuckle could be heard before the voice in a softer, shaken tone went on. "W - well, for me... I am already dead, or soon will be as they know who I am and are coming for me. I am sorry but they now have your number and so they will be coming soon for you too. You must heed what I say. Do not tell anyone what I am telling you, for they are among us and you cannot know who to trust. Go to the station, find locker N6203. In there you will find what you need to stop what is about to happen."

"What are you talking about? What's going to happen?"

"In a way, the end of the world. At least the end of the world as you now know it. You will understand when you encounter the warning sign, then you will know that the world you just woke up in is not the same one as you fell asleep in the night before. I am sorry, you were someone just having a normal life, unaware that something truly evil had arrived in this city until you answered the phone. But you did answer, and now it is all up to you."

"Hell, this is crazy. I am going to hang up, and if you call again I will call the police." Just as she was about to slam the phone down, she thought she heard a loud banging noise coming from the other end of the call, maybe a grunt, then the line disconnected. For a moment she sat frozen in her bed as she stared at the phone still in her hand. A puzzled look came into her burgundy eyes and she started to feel a bit anxious what with how spooky the caller had been. "Ah, damn it" she shouted irritatedly and with that she slammed the phone down, rolled back over in bed and threw her pillow over her head.

Like any other city, Uminari began to wake up long before the sun rose above it's buildings' skyline. All over there were the stirrings of the early morning workers - those that put the morning newspaper together, cooks in diners preparing for the breakfast rush. There were even those who were finding the end of their day at this quiet hour, the late night revelers, and those who worked in the bars and joints throughout the city. The early morning workers, and late night carousers passing by on the street in the earliest, or latest hour of their day - simultaneously.

There is a certain sound associated with this time, the rumble of a passing truck, a low yet constant hum of electricity from the street lights, the angry hiss of alley cats. Each sound quiet in its manifest, yet each so distinct, something the daylight bleaches out. And as she struggled to find sleep again, head beneath her pillow, she was acutely aware of this slow, soft awakening that was going on just outside her bedroom window. Feathers and cotton were no match to block out the funny feelings growing in her abdomen. That call had given her the jitters there was no doubt. With a huff she flung her pillow across the room and tossed the comforter off her body. Sitting up she looked with disgust at the clock on her bedside table, 4:19 a.m.. There would be no going back to sleep now.

Dressed in black running pants and tank top with a yellow windbreaker zippered all the way up, she had run for the past half hour and had reached the park near the waterfront. As she raced along the main path by the water's edge, her breathing ragged, she suddenly veered left and approached a section of the park that was often overlooked by most of the people who walked through it. It was an older part, somewhat hidden by the overgrowth of shrubs and bushes along the cracked path. She slowed down to a jog and continued along until she came to where a little rusted footbridge arched across a small inlet, on the other side were some picnic tables and benches that circled around a fountain that had long stopped functioning. There were a few vending machines to buy something to eat or drink, and a small clock tower could be seen beyond a weather beaten hedge that circled and kept the picnic area hidden. She had always liked this place, felt drawn to it, found comfort here whenever she was lonely or sad.

But this time she found no comfort. That nervous feeling from the phone call had refused to let her go and she had hoped when she decided to go for a jog in the coolness of the early spring morning air that it might settle her nerves down and bring back a sense of normality, as running usually did for her. Instead she had become more frantic and her jog soon turned into an all out sprint, running as fast and as far as she could to get away from the voice still whispering in her mind. She bent over, resting her hands on her knees trying to catch her ragged breath, strands of blond hair stuck to her damp brow having come loose from her long pony tail tied back with a single black ribbon. Why was this bothering her so much she wondered. The sweat on her body was starting to chill her and so finally she stood up straight, brushed back behind her ears the stray long and damp hairs then walked over to a vending machine buying a cup of coffee, grateful for the warmth it brought to her hands and the heat of the bitter, back liquid as it slid down her throat.

"Ah, I wouldn't mind the sip of a warm drink." spoke a gruff female voice from behind her. The blonde woman turned to find a rather large reddish dog with a jewel in its forehead sitting before her, tail wagging.

" I'm Arf. Don't be afraid. I was sent to protect you. They are coming and you don't have long." Said the dog.

"A d-dog just spoke t-to me." the woman stuttered in shock.

She turned her eyes away from the dog (or should she say wolf?) and looked at the clock tower. Her eyes widened. Behind the clock the first rays of light could be seen from the rising sun. She hit the ground before the coffee cup.

5:38 a.m


	2. Chapter 2: Relativity

A/N

_"Italics"_ = thoughts

**Bold First Sentence** = Random 1st sentence from a random book selected by a friend

This chapter's sentence is from: The Austere Academy , Lemony Snicket

To those who reviewed, or tagged my 1st story to follow or as a favorite THANK YOU! I am new to writing and any help or encouragement is soooooooooo appreciated nyhahaha.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own any works by Lemony Snicket or the characters of MGLN.

Let us begin...

Chapter 2: Relativity

**If you were going to give a gold medal to the least delightful person on Earth at this moment, you would have to give that medal to a person named Nanoha Takamachi, and if you didn't give it to her, Nanoha Takamachi was the sort of person who would snatch it from your hands anyway.**

It's not that she was an unhappy person, or that she lacked a kind heart, or even that she was disliked. No. She was the opposite of that most of the time. Nanoha was loved by those who knew her. She was quite popular on her college campus where she was a math major, considered in fact a mathematical prodigy. All who met Nanoha admired her for her kind and caring nature as evidenced in the way she always was the first to give a lending hand. She had a smile for everyone. Even her math professor, Dr. Jail Scaglietti, who truth be told, really was the least delightful person on Earth, and who sent a chill up her spine when ever she was near him, received her gracious smile. Its just that the way she went about living her life, well it was a bit explosive at times. Where the anger came from she could not say, but for as long as she could remember it was quick to rise to the surface whenever she felt an injustice; she had a knack for finding injustices. At these times those nearby to her would shutter with fright, duck and hide. You just did not want to be on the receiving end of her wrath. This earned the caring young woman a nick name she was not too fond of, "The White Devil". If ever she found out the person who gave her that nickname she would proceed to immediately give them divine retribution by busting their ass, causing them to see stars.

It was the wee early hours of morning and Nanoha was particularly grumpy. She had stayed up late working on a paper for her English lit class that wasn't going so well and she had a headache to show for it. Her paper's premiss was the "Theory of Relativity in James Joyce's Finnegan's Wake". Nanoha felt she had discovered a parallel between Einstein's understanding of time and Joyce's fiction. In regular physics, time is measured in fixed units on a linear progression and this was the basis of the scientific description of reality. Everyday life seemingly followed this concept. The face of a clock ticking away hours, minutes, seconds, and the pages of a calendar, ripping off as each day, week, month passed is the system of time by which they all lived. But when Nanoha read Finnegan's Wake, she saw in Joyce's work another description of reality; a reality much aligned with Einstein's. According to Einstein, such a linear progression is not compatible with the actual nature of human temporal experience. The mind never perceives reality as restricted to the present; on the contrary, the past events and experiences (as well as imaginary projections into the future) merge together with the present to co-exist. According to Einstein events did not occur one after another along a single progression, rather, they coexist as parts of the time-space continuum. It was this idea that Nanoha was making about Joyce's writing that was giving her such a hard time. "_Hmm, was that another perception on how time passed"_, Nanoha thought, "_hard time, easy time._" What Nanoha saw in Joyce's words were characters for whom the past, present and future ceaselessly flow together, but in her paper she was struggling to get her ideas across.

When the clock chimed to indicate it was already after 3 a.m., she shrugged and stood up from a table strewn with papers, books, and her laptop. She squeezed and gently massaged the bridge of her nose with her right hand as she reached up with her left to pull her chestnut hair out of its long single pony tail which quirkily enough she had originally tied to one side. Her body ached like it was already 6 a.m., and her mind had blanked out no longer aware of the past, present or any possible future the time-space continuum might hold in store for her. She plopped down on her bed still fully clothed, and fell into sleep. So, when the phone rang at 5:13 am and the manager of the coffee shop where Nanoha worked part time asked her to come in early to open up because once again the regular morning person had called in sick, she was a bit ticked off. Still her sense of responsibility made her agree to go in.

Groggy from lack of sleep Nanoha rushed out her door on her way to work. Under her dark blue jacket she wore her waitress uniform, a baby blue one piece with white trim and a hem that was rather more on the short side then she was comfortable in. White stockings adorned her toned legs, completing her outfit. She carried a bag that held a change of clothes and her laptop so she could head straight to the University after her shift at the coffee shop ended. Tying the bag down on the back of her bicycle, and her hair back into its side ponytail, she was off down the road on her way to the water front where the coffee shop was located.

Even in her tired state, as she cycled along the edge of the rode, Nanoha's mind went back to the paradox she had encountered in writing her paper.

"_If the universal constants are precisely balanced, such, that life, could not exist otherwise, then just how can the past, present and future overlap? What if the idea of parallel universes were real and in each were the same universal constants. Next_," (and here is where Nanoha's mathematical mind became excited at the possibilities and probabilities) "You _take those constants out hundreds, millions, even trillions of decimal places. Minuscule, almost infinitesimal differences between the constants of each universe would barely be noticeable, but they would be there - resonances of a quantum "multiverse", meaning that each resonance was unique. Wouldn't that mean if one could 'slice through' a point within these multiverses one would encounter the past, present and future all at the same instant? Wouldn't this make time travel somehow possible?_"

So lost in her thoughts, Nanoha did not see the sewer drain in the road just ahead. Her front tire suddenly caught between the rails, dipping down into the grate and slamming hard against a sharp edge. The handlebars twisted in her hands and sent her flying off her bike onto the ground at the curves edge. Her bike bucked like a bronco and shuddered for a moment before stopping in a leaning upright position, held up by the front tire now wedged into the sewer grate. Her fair skin became paler for a moment as she lay on her back in a state of shock. Shaking her head she took stock of her situation and a sigh of relief escaped her lips as she realized the soft grassy knoll that she landed on saved her from harm, the only bruise being her pride. She slowly stood up and brushed the bit of grass that stuck to her coat.

"Damn," she cursed quietly under her breath. "these are my only pair, and I just bought them." Nanoha was looking at a run going the entire length of her white stockings on her left leg. Mad, but realizing there was not anything she could do about the state of her stockings, Nanoha looked up to assess the condition of her bicycle. Her bag had somehow managed to stay on the back of the bike although it hung off the side almost ready to spill its content. Thinking of her laptop, she quickly went over and readjusted the bag, securing it back into its proper position. Next she yanked the front tire out of the grate, and her hopes fell. She had a flat tire.

"Damn", she said again. She wanted to blast the person who decided to install a grate in the road just there. "I so want to break something right now... Nyhahaha," she laughs a bit while scratching her chin, "I guess I already did" she mutters while looking sadly at her busted up bike.

Just up ahead was the entrance to the waterfront park and the coffee shop was not too far past it. If she hurried and cut through the park, she could still make it to work on time. "_What to do with the bike_", Nanoha thought. "_I know, there is a small picnic area that is not out of the way, its a bit secluded but there is an old bike rack there. I could get around easier if I lock my bike up there and come back for it later. Hmmm, that's what I will do then._"

a/n: I worked hard to try and make this chapter connect in some small way with the prior. I think this need to make connections will grow with each chapter. I have no idea what the next chapter's beginning sentence will be, so i look forward to that challenge.

I am open to reviews, suggestions, corrections, etc. Thank you!


	3. Chapter 3: Memories Are Time Travel Too

Hi all.

Thanks for the reviews. I read each and took them to heart. I went back and made some changes to the first two chapters. Also, I tried to make this chapter a bit longer and to balance the descriptive writing with any action and dialog. i have to say that this chapter's random opening sentence was a hard one. I had to think how to start with this and still make it link back to the story in the prior chapters. In the end I fell back on an old crutch - the dream... Let me know if you think it is confusing in any way.

Finally, I did make one change to the author's sentence by adding "sister's" and "them" instead of her. Otherwise it is as originally written.

**Bold** = Random first sentence from a publish book: This chapter's sentence comes from: Weapons of Choice by Gordan Parks. A really great autobiography about an African-American photographer.

_Italic = memory/dream (Fate's __unconscious state)_

_"Italic" = thoughts_

Normal = narration

* * *

Chapter 3: Memories Are Time travel Too

_**The full meaning of my mother's and sister's death had settled over me before they lowered them into the grave.**_

The blonde was having that dream again about a time long ago...

_I could still see them standing around the caskets as they were lowered, the first shovelful of dirt thrown upon them. As I lifted my head for a moment to look at the adults surrounding the graves, it was obvious they didn't want to be there; relatives who worried about the possibility of having to take in a newly orphaned child. Later, at the reception they spoke false platitudes while sipping tea and eating sweets; a few got into the stronger stuff my mother had kept behind the bar. They all had eyes for the antiques and silverware, but no one noticed me, a small nine year old child trying in vain to hold back my tears. I suppressed a sniffle as I slipped off to the room where my mother's presence was most felt in this house, and where my last memories of my sister rested - her laboratory in the basement._

* * *

Arf worried over the woman who had fainted in front of her, it seemed she had hit her head pretty hard on the concourse when she fell. Leaning over her she started to lick the blonde's face. She nudged her with her nose. She patted her shoulder with her paw. No response, the woman was really out cold.

"Grrrrrr, Come on now, open your eyes" the dog panted. Arf was really worried.

"Hey y..." "... up"

* * *

It seemed as if from a great distance a voice was calling to her, but she could not make out the words. The image of the laboratory wavered for a moment, but only for a moment. The blonde dived back under.

_My mother had been a brilliant medical researcher, but also a very kind and loving mother to me... and my identical twin sister. But being identical didn't mean we were the same, or that we would share the same fate. In her laboratory my mother had searched relentlessly for a way to cure my older twin who had been diagnosed with a myelin disorder, an extremely debilitating and fatal brain disease. As my sister's body withered under the onslaught of her illness, growing weaker and weaker, my own vibrancy was just too blinding for my mother. Day by day she distanced herself from me, spending almost all her time conducting experiments, and caring for Alicia. I could run and play in the sunshine, but all I wanted was to be with them, holding Alicia's hand, sharing stories, caring for her - and helping my mother in what ever small way that even a child like myself could._

_Time went by, days, weeks, months. I was left more and more on my own, learning to take care of myself and the house. Then that day happened. I had snuck into the lab to check on Alicia, bringing her fresh flowers I had picked on my way back from a trip to the convenience store where I had bought three ramen noodle cups for our dinner. I was shocked at how frail both Alicia and my mother looked. My mother stood next to a row of serum-separating tubes as she measured liquid into a graduate, her hands shaking from exhaustion. My sister labored to breath, her mind, body and spirit almost gone. I rushed over to Alicia's bed, crawling up onto it so I could hold her. I hoped I could somehow give her my warmth, pass on to her my strength, but being a child I did not realize my hug could hurt her. A faint smile touched Alicia's waxen face just before she whimpered in pain. Quickly my mother turned at the sound, noticing me cradling Alicia in my arms. Mother became infuriated._

_"I can't believe you Fate," mother hissed at me in a venomous voice. "You are worst then useless, you actually hurt your sister! You are not needed here ... SO GET OUT!"_

_My arm was painfully grabbed and with a strength I thought mother no longer possessed; she threw me out the door and slammed it shut. I heard the click of the deadbolt locking into place._

_After that the door to the laboratory remained locked. I never saw my mother or sister, and why should I. I only caused them pain and heartache. It didn't matter that I only meant to help, I knew now that I was useless and no good. My days from then on were spent as if I was on auto pilot. I got up each morning, went to school; stopped at the convenience store to buy dinner on the way home; I placed their dinners by the door that is barred to me; I clean the house and did my homework. Later when I would go back to the lab door in the basement I sometimes found the food was gone, sometimes it just stayed there. I sit by the laboratory door hoping to hear from inside something, anything, but I never do. I go to bed._

* * *

"Come on n..., wake ... You ca ... it"

A voice again seemed to be calling to her from a great distance away. Her dream like memories that had taken such powerful hold of her shimmered and faded, as she began to feel like she was surfacing after being at the bottom of the sea. But she was confused and could not find the surface, she opened her mouth to callout only to feel like she was drowning. The darkness came on her again.

* * *

_One day I came home and mother is just sitting on the couch. I was afraid as to what this might mean. Slowly I walk up to her. Will she recognize me? Will she smile at me again like the way she use to before Alicia got sick?_

_"M-m-mother?" There is no reply._

_"Mother, it's me, F-fate." Not an eyelash batted, not a twitch._

_"Mother, whats wrong?" The urgent cry full of fear._

_"Mother, p-p-please, s-say something!" I pull on my mother's arm, letting go, the arm falls limp._

_I suddenly realize that there could be only one reason my mother was acting this way. I run to the laboratory - Alicia, no I don't want to think it, Alicia... is dead._

_I am not sure how long I stand there holding her limp hand against my tear stained cheek. It seemed so unreal, Alicia was a part of me, and now that part, the best part was gone. Why couldn't it be me? At some point I left the laboratory, closing the door softly, and walk back to my mother still in her comatose like state. I curl up next to her on the couch, silent tears falling from my eyes. I am not sure how long I stay like this, but finally my nine year old body succumbs, and I fall asleep next to Precia, my mother._

_When I wake up I realize my mother is no longer sitting next to me. I look around but she is not in the room. On the coffee table in front of me is a letter in my mother's handwriting. It is addressed to me. I reach out with shaking hands, pick it up and read it._

_Dear Fate -_

_I was so obsessed with my fear of loosing Alicia I failed to see that I lost myself - and in so doing I lost you too. I was so sure that I could find a way to cure your sister - after all everyone said I was a genius doctor - my pride blinded me to the truth._

_Alicia asked for you in the end. She was happiest when she was with her special other half. She asked for you because she loved you so much. You, only you made her feel alive. She begged me to see what I was doing and to find the kind person and loving mother I once was._

_In trying to find a cure for your sister, I went so far as to conduct experiments on myself out of desperation. Alicia was deteriorating, she was in pain. I tried to make her comfortable, but what she asked for time and time again, was you. I became jealous of my own daughter. Near the end my own body started to reject the experiments I was conducting on myself. I felt myself weakening. Then I had a thought - you Fate shared Alicia's DNA. What if I did the experiments on you. I was so desperate - I could see your sister was at her end. I decided I would go to your school and drag you home so I could begin._

_That was when I heard Alicia faintly calling out to me . I ran to her side and held her hand. I saw then that it was too late, she only had a little time left. I tried to comfort her, I encouraged her to hold on, that I just knew I would have the cure shortly. She squeezed my hand and turned her head slightly (with great effort) and looked at me._

_"No Mother," she said with a little more strength in her voice, "it is time. It's Okay. Mother, I am not sad, I am just tired. I love you and thank you for fighting for my life". As I listened to her, Alicia's voice began to weaken and falter. Still she fought to continue on. This is what she said Fate:_

_" Mother, all I have ever wanted was for you to be the kind and loving mother you use to be to me, and to my best half, my sister. I so wish I could see Fate's smile one more time. I didn't mind when she hugged me that time, Mother. It hurt a bit, but Fate was trying to give me some of her life, and I so love her for it. I know how sad she is going to be when I am gone."_

_Alicia was finding it hard to catch her breath. My heart was in my throat. At first I felt panicked listening to her, but then she gave me a gift, Fate. She gently reminded me of the love I once felt, of my most important role, not as Alicia's doctor, but as her mother. Her voice now was barely a whisper and I had to lean over to catch her last words._

_" Mo-th-er, I w-wish I cou-ld see ... one more ti-me so I c-an share with her ... t-the one thing I still ... to give, my h-h-heart. ... Please, mother tell Fate ... I love her. Mother, ... make me ... happy and I ... let go ... all this ... pain, ... find it ... w-with...in y-you to ... l-l-love ... F-Fate ... again. I-I love y..._

_Alicia just stopped. Her eyes became vacant. I reached up and gently caressed her cheek before closing her eyes forever. I would never see those burgundy eyes of hers again. But I now realize that another set of beautiful burgundy eyes also looked at me with love, yet I had turned away from them. Your eyes Fate._

_What I did to you Fate is unforgivable, so I will not ask for it._

_I do love you. Always and forever._

_I am sorry. Please, be stronger then me._

_Please, have the strength to go on._

_Love,_

_your mother,_

_Precia Testarossa._

_I looked up from the tear stained letter. Mine and my mother's. Even as a nine year old I knew what this letter meant. My greatest happiness, that my mother really did love me after all was wrapped inside my greatest sorrow, the loss of my family; I didn't need to walk to the laboratory to know what I would find, mother's body laying next to Alicia's in repose. I cried for the last time._

* * *

Nanoha was tugging her crippled bike across the little bridge to where she intended to lock it up. Looking up she was surprised to she near the vending machines just ahead a large red dog. It was licking something on the ground. Realization washed over her. She dropped her bike and sprinted over to the woman in black and yellow laying sprawled upon the ground. As she reached the woman the large red dog looked up at her and started to growl. It stood across the woman's body as if protecting her. Nanoha paused for a moment, after all the dog was quite threatening, but then her need to help the young woman in front of her took over. Nanoha locked eyes with the dog.

"Alright boy, (this got her another angry growl from the canine) "ah, I mean girl. It's OK, I only want to help."

Their starring match went on for a minute more till the dog, perceiving that the brown haired stranger meant no harm, finally relented and stepped back just enough to let Nanoha see to the woman. Ignoring the dog, Nanoha knelt down next to the blonde. For a moment her breath was taken away. The woman who laid unconscious upon the ground was beautiful, even with a growing welt upon her forehead. She didn't know why, but she felt a need to protect her. Nanoha reached for the girl's neck to check her pulse.

_"It's a bit fast but it's steady, thank god."_ Nanoha thought. Not wanting to move her in fear of a head injury, but wanting to see if she could rouse the woman, Nanoha, once she got "permission" from the dog, gently slapped her face.

"Come on now, wake up. You can do it"

The unconscious woman groaned and creased her eyebrows slightly in a frown, but then she seemed to sink back under. Nanoha was really worried and quickly checked to see if there were any other signs of injury besides the bump she saw on the woman's head. Deciding there weren't any, she took her jacket off and laid it across the blondes body to keep her warm. Quickly she ran to her bike and grabbed her bag off of it. While running back, she reached into her bag and pulled out her cell phone. She knelt down again beside the woman and started to call 119* but just then the unconscious woman began to wake up.

"Ugh... w-what hap-pened?" Her voice was soft and a bit unsteady. She tried to sit up till a hand on her shoulder pushed her gently back down.

"Don't try to sit up yet. You fell somehow and hit your head knocking yourself out. You could have a serious head injury. I am going to call 119 for you." Nanoha said.

"NO!" The woman exclaimed in her shaky voice. This made her dizzy and she groaned a little while bringing her hand to her head. Finally she looked up at the woman who spoke to her, blinking to clear her vision, and that was when she looked into the kindest, concerned blue eyes she had ever seen.

Nanoha was surprised by the burgundy eyes of the woman. Never had she seen such a color. They were drawing her in, so filled with pain, confusion, sadness. Even though she didn't know her, all Nanoha wanted to do was to make this woman smile.

"Hey, take it easy there." Nanoha told the woman gently. "I think you might have a concussion. You really need to see a doctor."

Nanoha smiled gently at the woman, taking one of her hands in hers.

"Please, let me call and get you help." she continued.

The woman blinked several times before answering.

"No, I'm Okay. I must have over exerted myself running, that's all. I have a headache and feel a little nauseous but other then that I am fine, really."

"I don't call that fine at all." Nanoha responded in almost a motherly tone. "I'm going to call for help."

Nanoha looked down at her phone and began to dial 119 but before she could press send the woman had reached up and grabbed her phone from her.

"I said no! I will not go see a doctor. Thank you for your help but I am fine now, so you can go."

Looking down at the woman, Nanoha saw a change in her expression, the pain and confusion were replaced by a steely firmness of conviction, although a hint of the sadness still remained. Nanoha was starting to get mad. This woman clearly needed her help and by god she was going to get it whether she wanted it or not.

"Fine then, I see you are set on not seeking medical help, but you were unconscious for who knows how long, you have a welt on your head, and there could be other problems besides having a headache and nausea. So, if you will not seek proper medical help then you will have to agree to my help because I refuse to let you alone till I know absolutely that you are indeed OK. So, since we will be spending a bit of time together I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Takamachi Nanoha. You can call me Nanoha"

The blonde stared at her astounded.

"Nyahaha..." Nanoha giggled. "You know, when someone introduces themselves to you, the polite thing to do is to introduce yourself back. But I will forgive you since you hit your head." She smiled.

"Ah, um... Fate Testarossa."

"Fate. That's an unusual name. I like it. So Fate-chan, what's your dog's name? She is so protective of you. Every time I tried to do something to help you she would growl at me, and she only relented when I gave her reassurances I wouldn't harm you. Must be a dog's instinct that she understood my intentions."

"What? Fate-chan? Ah, but, wait... I don't have a dog." Fate turned her head only to see the large red dog sitting right beside her. The dog leaned done and licked her face.

"Akkkkk!" Fate sat up quickly. Too quickly. She suddenly had to wretch. Nanoha helped her lean over to her side, held her long blonde hair back, and gently rubbed circles on her back as Fate was sick. Next to them the the large red dog whimpered. As Fate recovered, Nanoha helped her to move a bit away from where she had just been sick. Fate sat back in a more upright position, hugging her knees to her chest.

"S-sorry" Fate's face had turned a slight pink from embarrassment. She turned her downcast eyes up to look first at the Brunette and then at the dog.

"Fate-chan, I think hitting your head has confused you. The way this dog acts, I am sure it must be yours."

Fate thought back to all that had happened this morning. It was so confusing, and now she didn't feel well. One thing she remembered though was that the voice on the phone that had started all of this said to trust no one. But it also said their would be a sign that all was not the same as it was. Surely this big red talking dog was the sign. It said it was there to help her. And the woman said it had been protecting her while she was out cold. She decided she had to be careful around Nanoha, even though those blue eyes told her otherwise. She needed some time to figure things out. But her mind was still fuzzy from hitting her head, so it was hard to think. For now, she would lie.

"Ah yes, you are right Takamachi-san. I remember now, she is my dog and her name is Arf."

With that Arf barked happily and wagged her tail.

* * *

A/N * 119 is the emergency number in Japan.

Well I have the next sentence picked out for me. Can I say YIKES! What have I got myself into! Anyway, the following chapters should be more action driven I hope. I also will start to build Nanoha's and Fate's relationship, but it won't be easy with Fate being all mistrusting and such.

Reviews, suggestions, all very much appreciated. Again I am a first timer so always open to helpful suggestions.

Normal Disclaimer: I do not own or have any rights to MGLN


	4. Chapter 4: My Name is Safe in Her Mouth

**A/N** Thank you to all those who were kind enough to review chapter 3.

For today's chapter I was even more stumped when I got handed the sentence then the last chapter...

**Bold** = Random 1st sentence from a published book residing in my bookcase, or on my steps, or in a pile next to the tub, or on top of the fridge...

This chapter's sentence is from: _Captain Corelli's Mandolin_, Louis de Bernieres. I only changed the name of the doctor in this sentence.

"_Italics_" = Thoughts

Normal = narration

Disclaimer: I do not own any aspect of MGLN or Louis de Bernieres' wonderful book.

* * *

Chapter 4

**"Dr ****Regius Gaiz**** had enjoyed a satisfactory day in which none of his patients had died or got any worse."**

Quattro reported to her superior. She stood in front of a video screen, it's light revealing her spike punk hair cut, and blue uniform with the Roman numeral IV on the collar. Behind her stretched a cavernous space, bathed in a dull green light and seemingly going on endlessly, filled with life pods, each holding one of Dr Gaiz's "patients" in status, surrounded by embryonic fluid. Tubes and wires ran throughout the space connecting each pod to the next and to the monitors, generators and computers and nutrient dispensers that hummed insistently.

Every one hundred life pods were thus interconnected with a larger complex of machinery rising from between them. At the heart of this apparatus was a status chamber that glowed from ionized particles swirling about. Every few minutes the particles would come together and a powerful energy would be released, traveling through the connecting tubes to a newly attached life pod where an energy discharge would occur. Dr. Gaiz walked over to examine his newest patient. It was a pleasant looking young woman with medium length purple hair.

"Another successful transplant" commented the doctor.

"Good, good." came a voice from the monitor. "All is moving forward as planned. See to it Quattro that the good doctor has all that he needs. Oh, and Quattro, see to it that nothing interferes with our plans. I believe you know what I am talking about?"

"Yes sir! I will see to it." Quattro saluted as the screen went blank.

* * *

Fate sighed for about the umpteenth time as she turned her back to the window she had just been staring out of. Somehow, back in the park, Nanoha had almost forcefully convinced the blonde that she would not leave her alone till she knew she was fine, so reluctantly Fate agreed to go to the cafe where Nanoha worked. She had just been watching as Arf, outside the window she was sitting next to, happily devoured the plateful of meat scraps the brunette waitress had placed on the ground for the big red dog. Now Fate turned to look back inside at the cafe. It was a friendly looking eatery. There were tables in the center with blue and white checkered table cloth, and booths with red seat benches running along the outside walls, most with window views of the waterfront. There was also a counter lined with chrome stools that had red leather cushion seats as well. She saw Nanoha back there making coffee and waiting on a few customers who were sitting at the counter. Before Fate realized it, a small smile came to her lips as she watched the brunette with the side pony tail.

Half of the tables and booths were already taken up with early morning customers. Fate could tell many were regulars just by their casual good morning nods they gave to each other, and by the way they were interacting with the other wait staff, although she did note a few customers giving one waitress a puzzled look, overhearing one of them ask, "What's up, Lotte-Chan? Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning? Where is your usual smile today?" Fate couldn't hear the girl's reply but she did notice that while the girl was very pretty, her emotionless face seemed somewhat cold and disturbing.

* * *

Nanoha had sat Fate down in a window booth then hurried over to get a cup of coffee and a menu for her. When she got behind the counter she noticed that the coffee pot was empty so she quickly began making another pot. She did not want to give Fate any excuse to get up and leave. The tall blonde had definitely been dizzy and a bit shaky on the short walk over to the cafe from where Nanoha had first found her in the park. She was concerned that the bump on her head really was a concussion. Fate did finally admit she had a headache at least.

"_Some caffeine, and some food should help her head ache and dizziness I think... at least I hope so. Hmmm, maybe something light like toast with strawberry jam and a cup of yogurt would be good. " _Nanoha thought_. _She gave the blonde a quick glance. Fate was starring out her window looking at her dog with a frown on her face. Nanoha couldn't help but smile. _"Right, I know what I can do, I can give Arf a nice reward for taking such good care of her master." S_o, while the pot of coffee was brewing Nanoha had happily set off to feed and water Arf. She had let the cafe manager know what she was doing.

As he poured half of his mug of coffee down the sink, the manager said to Nanoha, "Do what ever Nanoha, I just appreciate you coming in on such short notice. I got Garyu-kun to agree to come in early for his shift, so I'll only need you this morning for about an hour, but I'll pay you for the regular wake-up shift. By the way, I saw you come in with a friend, I'll make her ticket on the house as a thank you too. If you don't mind, Nanoha, I've had three cups of coffee already and now it seems to be giving me quite the headache. I am going to the office in the back for a little while. Watch the front will you?"

"Okay Grangaitz-buchō, I hope you feel better, and thank you for letting me feed my friend's dog too."

Nanoha gave the manager her bright smile as she grabbed the plate of meat scraps and bowl of water to bring out to the dog. She could have sworn as she was putting the plate of food down on the ground she heard the big red dog bark out a 'thank you', but when the dog excitedly barked a few more times Nanoha just shook her head and giggled over her silly imagination. Once back from this chore she saw that the coffee was done brewing so Nanoha tossed some creamers into her apron pocket then grabbed the coffee pot, a clean mug, and a menu; after pouring refills for her customers seated at the counter, she headed over to serve Fate some coffee. For some reason she felt really happy to be waiting on the blonde.

Just before Nanoha reached Fate's table, one of the other waitresses cut Nanoha off, placing a mug on the table in front of the burgundy eyed blonde getting ready to pour her a cup of coffee. Nanoha felt really annoyed by this and reached out to grab Lotte's arm before she could pour the steaming hot dark and bitter liquid into the cup.

"Lotte-chan, if you don't mind, this is _my_ customer..." Nanoha pulled on the girls arm. She pulled a tad too hard. Lotte twisted out of balance letting go of the coffee pot in her hand. The pot fell upright on the table with a loud thud, some of its content splashing out onto the left sleeve of Fate's yellow wind breaker.

"Ahh... what the hell!" Fate shouted in surprise. Several people sitting near by turned to look at what was going on. Fate jerked her arm back and grabbed the spot the hot coffee had landed on. It burned.

"Fate! I'm so sorry! Are you alright?"

Concern filled Nanoha's voice as she pushed aside Lotte in order to reach Fate. Lotte looked blankly at Nanoha's back before picking up her coffee pot and turning around with out a word to serve the other customers in the cafe. In the mean time Nanoha noticed that Fate's face that had first turned red was now slowly becoming white. "_Damn it, why was it so important for me to pour Fate-chan a cup of coffee? I mean Lotte shouldn't have come over here but still I should have just let her do it. Now Fate looks like she is going to be sick again and it's my stupid fault." _Nanoha chastised herself.

Fate was struggling to get out of her yellow windbreaker. Nanoha put a towel she kept tucked into her apron down on the table and then the coffee pot and mug she was carrying onto that. Now with her hands free she gently helped Fate to slip off the stained sleeve, and then taking hold of the collar pulled the jacket down and off the girl.

"Ow! mmmm" Fate leaned over her left arm holding it. She looked up and gave Nanoha an accusatory look with her crimson eyes, tears on their brim, "That hurt Takamachi-san." she said with a pout.

"I know Fate-chan," Nanoha replied trying to soothe the blonde by softly rubbing her back with her hand. "It's pretty red but I don't think its a bad burn, still to be on the safe side we should put some cold water on it. Here, let me help you to the ladies room... and please, call me Nanoha."

* * *

The moment Fate stood up with Nanoha's help she thought she was going to be sick. They hurried to the ladies room where she vomited into the toilet. Nanoha once again held her long blonde hair up out of the way, and supported her. After, she stood draped over the sink letting cold water run onto her arm. Nanoha had stepped out to get the first aid kit from behind the counter and to ask one of the waitresses to watch her customers while she took care of Fate. She quickly got back to the ladies room just in time to hear Fate mumbling to herself about having an unbelievably unlucky morning.

"... a strange talking dog, I hit my head and knock myself out, a nettlesome girl won't leave me along, and she is so pushy she causes the other waitress to burn my arm. Can anything else go wrong this morning?" Fate hears the door to the ladies room close. Looking to her side she see's Nanoha standing there, first aid kit in hand and a hurt look in her blue eyes. _"I guess it can," _she slowly stands up straight, registering that now that she has thrown up a second time, she was actually feeling a bit better, more clear headed - even if her arm was hurting. She reached up with her uninjured arm behind her head and scratched it while clearing her throat.

"Hmmm-hmmm, ah, Takamachi-san, thank you for getting the first aid kit." Fate didn't like seeing the hurt in the girl's eyes and felt guilty that her words had caused it.

"It's the least I can do Fate-cha, ah I mean Testarossa-san. After all I insisted you come here, and then I caused you to get hurt." A tear starts to roll down Nanoha's cheek. "All I wanted to do was to help you."

Fate couldn't help but notice that the friendly girl had called her Testarossa.

"Ah, um, please don't cry Takama... um, Nanoha-san. You did help me. I'm sorry you overheard me just now. This morning has just been the worst and I'm not in a good mood, but that is no excuse for what I said. The truth is I really did feel terrible when I woke up back in the park, and I felt so dizzy that I think it would not have been safe if I had tried to go home on my own. I'm still not feeling 100%, but I do feel a bit better and I think, even with the arm, I have you to thank for that."

A smile came to Nanoha's face as she wiped the tear from her face. "You called me Nanoha-san."

"Huh?"

"Just now Fate-chan, you called me Nanoha-san."

"Oh yeah, I guess I did. Sorry it took me so long, I'm not very good with people." Fate's cheeks turned pink and she looked shyly away.

"It's Okay. Let's take care of your arm, then breakfast is on the house."

"I-I couldn't let you do that!"

"Don't worry Fate-chan, your not. The manager already told me your meal would be complimentary as a thank you to me for coming in when he was short staffed today."

Nanoha turned her attention to the burn on Fate's arm. Already the redness had gone down some with the cold water. Carefully she dried the wound, applied ointment then covered it with a sterile gauze. After they left the ladies room Nanoha asked Fate to wait for a moment while she quickly darted into the back of the cafe. She came back out holding a water bottle and a Uminari U sweatshirt.

"Here Fate-chan, since your jacket is stained and a bit damp, you can use my extra sweat shirt I keep here just in case I get cold."

"Nanoha-san, are you a student at Uminari U?"

"Yes, I'm a forth year math major. Do you go there too?"

"Me too. Ah, I mean yeah, I'm a forth year too. I'm in pre-med."

"Oh, so you plan to be a doctor? I hope my nursing skills met with your standards Fate-sensei." Nanoha teased Fate.

"Hahaha, Nanoha-san I am sure you would make a fine nurse, my arm barely hurts since you tended to it, and..." Fate teased back in a husky voice, " you wear a uniform just fine."

"Mou, Fate-chan you must be feeling better now." Nanoha felt a warm flush on her face. "So Fate-chan, I'm not working a regular shift today so I'll be done in about a half hour or so. Why don't you drink some water to rehydrate yourself and I can get you anything you want off the menu. I am sure you will feel even better after you eat something, hmm? Then, if you don't mind, I would like to make sure you get home alright. I hope you don't find that a bother."

"Well I guess that's Okay," Fate said a little doubtful, "but I live over near the University, are you sure that won't be going out of your way?"

"No, that's perfect! I have to see one of my professors later this morning to discuss a paper I am having trouble with, so I've got to go that way anyway. Let's walk together if you don't mind my company."

Fate smiled, she was surprised as she usually was uncomfortable around strangers, but Nanoha was so kind and warmhearted and there was just something mesmerizing about her big blue eyes, Fate couldn't help but feel good about the idea of walking home with Nanoha. A blush softly caressed her cheeks, a shy smile her lips.

"Fine then Nanoha-san," Burgundy eyes looked into Sapphire, "I'd like that."

* * *

After Nanoha had spoken briefly to the waitress that was covering for her while she was tending to Fate's burn, the two women walked back to the booth by the window that Fate had been sitting at. Just then the front door to the cafe opened and a woman wearing the cafe's waitress outfit under her open coat walked in. nanoha recognized her as the purple haired Noel, the girl Nanoha was covering for. Noel looked stone faced about the dining room then walked over to Lotte where they stood with heads together and talked for a moment. Noel abruptly turned and walked over to Nanoha just as Fate was sitting back down at the table.

"Nanoha-san, I apologize for inconveniencing you this morning. I will work my shift now so you can sit and have some breakfast with your friend."

Nanoha was surprised to see Noel come into the cafe, she was even more surprised when she looked at Noel noting her vacant eyes and monotone voice. "Noel-san are you sure you are alright and should be here at work? Forgive me, but you don't seem like your normal self." For that matter, Nanoha thought, Lotte-chan was not herself either.

Noel-san smiled, although Nanoha noticed the smile was just a mere upturn of the woman's lips, the rest of her face, even her eyes remained stone-still as if empty. "I am very well Nanoha-san. I wish to thank you for covering for me. Please sit with your friend and I will take care of your customers at the counter."

"Oh, if you are sure Noel-san, then alright I would like to sit with my friend. I'll just go get her some coffee and..."

Noel took a step closer to Nanoha, "No. Sit. I will bring you coffee. I insist."

The 'I insist' was a bit of a throwback for Nanoha and she felt chided enough to comply, even though she felt uncomfortable with the two waitresses behavior. Something was off.

Noel picked up the coffee pot and mug Nanoha had left on the table form before and went to get a pot of fresh coffee and a couple of clean mugs. Nanoha sat down at the table facing Fate.

"What was that about Nanoha-san? That girl seemed really cold to you." Fate said.

Nanoha really didn't know what to say. She was baffled too. Noel was always a confident, yet warm person. As she watched, two customers, long time regulars, complained that they were starting to get bad headaches. They paid for their coffees, got up and left.

"Fate-chan, I think that there is something going around. The manager was not feeling well earlier and now some customers are complaining of feeling sick. I bet that is why Noel-san and Lotte-chan are acting so strangely. What do you say we just get out of here? I'd hate it if you caught whatever is going around with you not at your best after your fall.

"I'm fine with that if you think its best Nano -"

Fate was interrupted by Noel who put two mugs down on the table and began pouring coffee for Fate and Nanoha.

"What will you have?" Noel asked.

"Oh, Noel-san, I think we are not going to get anything after all" Nanoha replied.

"Nanoha-san it is my treat, I insist!."

"Nyahahaha, Noel-san I appreciate your generosity but I just think tha"

"No, I am treating, you must have something."

* * *

Fate was starting to get a headache again just from listening to the two argue over eating or not. She sighed and reached for her coffee that Noel had just served her. Fate thought the coffee might help. Just as she brought the cup to her lips Arf banged hard against the window, growling and howling at Fate. The blonde almost jumped out of her skin - and almost ended up with hot coffee spilled over her again. She turned her head to give Arf an angry scowl when she saw the look in Arf's eyes as the big red dog shook her head NO at Fate. As Fate put the coffee cup down, it almost seemed like Arf was smiling as the dog began to move her head up and down, YES. Arf shifted her attention to the waitress still standing at the table. The dog's growl turned into a staccato of barks.

Fate had not been the only one to react to Arf's aggressive behavior, though somewhat muffled by the glass, her bark could be heard throughout the dining room. A number of staff and customers had turned to look at what was going on, shock and surprise on their faces. One customer sitting at a table near them actually spilt their orange juice, having reacted much like Fate had. Nanoha had herself almost jumped out of her skin, nervously laughing over the dog's behavior. Fate started to feel embarrassed that they were causing so much trouble to everyone but then she saw that that was not true; some of the customers continued to eat and drink as if nothing had happened, the same for some of the staff like the waitresses Nanoha had spoken about, Lotte and Noel. Fate wondered how they could not have jumped and been surprised by Arf's behavior, especially Noel as Arf continued to bark aggressively at her. Surely any normal person would be frightened by the dog's behavior, even just a little bit. Fate thought it odd and an uneasy feeling spread through her.

"Nanoha, I think we should leave before we cause anyone more trouble," Fate said.

"Nyahaha." Nanoha was a bit red faced, embarrassed to have caused a commotion at her place of work. She hadn't even noticed that Fate had dropped the 'san' from her name, or she the 'chan' from Fate's. "I think your right Fate."

Turning to Noel, Nanoha continued, "Noel-san, thank you for thinking of me but we will pass on having any breakfast."

"I insist, you must drink your coffee." Noel replied in her monotone.

Nanoha was becoming annoyed with the girl, and she didn't like how Noel was acting.

"No, Noel-san... I insist now! Thank you but since you are here now, and since my friend asked, we will leave. Come on Fate, I'll walk you home."

Nanoha led Fate out the cafe through the back so she could grab her bag although she had decided she would not even bother to change out of her uniform. She knocked several times on the office door so that she could let the manager know she was going, but there had been no answer.

"I'm sure it is Okay, Nanoha-san, I am su-"

"Wait!" Nanoha strongly interrupted Fate (causing her to cringe a bit in fear) "Didn't you call me just Nanoha back there at the booth?"

"Oh, about that, I am sorry to be so impolite, Arf's barking was making me feel nervous and I forgot my manners."

"No, no no Fate-chan," Nanoha shook her head at the blonde, a smile growing on her face. "I liked it that you called me Nanoha. It makes it sound like we really are friends. And," Nanoha felt her cheeks turning a slight red as she looked up at the taller woman, "I would like us to be friends you know."

"I - I - I would like that too." The blonde stuttered as she looked into Nanoha's beautiful and kind sapphire eyes briefly before shyly looking away.

"Fine then, that's settled. Now that we are friend's Fate-chan just call my name. Just say Nanoha."

"Nanoha," Fate quietly replied with a warm and genuine smile. "I like that."

Grabbing her bag, Nanoha and Fate left out the cafe's back door, and headed to Fate's apartment, Arf joining them. Fate gave Arf a nod, slowly reaching out to give the dog a pet on her head. It almost did feel like Arf was her dog.

* * *

Along the way Nanoha and Fate talked, getting to know each other.

"Fate-chan, if you don't mind my asking, your Japanese is excellent but you look like a foreigner, could you tell me a little about yourself?"

"Are you implying I am not Japanese Nanoha? I can show you my passport to prove that I am." Fate replied with just a wisp of irritation in her voice. The truth is that Fate was use to this question about her heritage, but she wasn't expecting Nanoha's reply.

"No! Sorry Fate-chan. Nyahaha," Nanoha scratched her cheek nervously. "I only asked because your gorgeous long blonde hair, bewitching burgundy eyes, and glamourous height give you that exotic beauty look of a foreigner."

Nanoha, realizing what she just said, quickly walked ahead of Fate, but not before the girl noticed how red Nanoha's ears had turned. The only thing that was redder was perhaps Fate's face.

"T-thank you Nanoha but I am really not special. And I'm not beautiful, not like you." Fate mumbled as her eyes traveled down and up Nanoha's perfectly proportioned body. Nanoha turned to look back at Fate, each girl looking into the other's eyes before casting eyes down and away from embarrassment. Each were feeling strange sensations that they couldn't explain to themselves. Fate gathered herself together.

"You are right though, I am only part Japanese. You see my mother was a Japanese American and my father was from Europe. I never met him though as he died just before I was born. I lived in America for my first four years till my mother got a neuroscience research grant here in Japan. The laboratory was here in Uminari City which is also where my mother's Japanese family is from, although I have not seen any of them in years."

Nanoha thought she detected some sadness in Fate's voice. She felt bad for making the blonde remember any sad thoughts.

"So your mother is a neuroscientist? Is that where you got your interest in Medicine? Are you following in her footsteps?"

"Yes, she was and I suppose that is how I came to be interested in medicine. Like my mother I have specialized in neurology. I just want to help people who are suffering from debilitating and life threatening diseases, especially children. I would like to continue my mother's research in hopes of finding a cure to myelin disorders."

"Does that mean your mother is no longer working on her research Fate-chan?"

A shadow came across Fate's eyes, she looked down, letting her bangs cover them. "My mother died when I was nine."

"Ahhh, I'm so sorry Fate-chan. I didn't mean to make you sad!" Nanoha was kicking herself. All she wanted to do was to learn more about Fate, and to put a smile on her face. Instead, every question she asked caused the blonde pain.

"It's alright Nanoha, you didn't know, besides, my mother loved me and that is good enough."

They walked on for a bit in silence. Fate felt bad for the chestnut haired woman she was walking next too. She could see a scowl on Nanoha's cute face and realized the girl was admonishing herself for causing her to remember the sadness in her past. Fate wasn't very skilled in starting casual conversations as she had very few experiences with friends over the years, but she didn't want to leave Nanoha feeling guilty when there was no reason to.

"N-Nanoha, ah, um,..." Fate paused before trying again.

"Nanoha, ah you said you were having difficulty with a paper for school. Can you tell me about it?"

"Are you sure you want to hear about that Fate-chan?"

"Of course. Maybe talking about it to someone will help you to resolve the problems you are having with it."

"Oh- ah, Okay Fate-chan but I have to warn you it might seem a bit out there to you."

"Well what subject is it for Nanoha?" Fate was curious as to just what Nanoha meant by "out there".

"It's a paper for my English Lit class. I had to write an interpretation of an author's work. I chose James Joyce's 'Finnegan's Wake'."

"I see, no wonder you are struggling with this paper then, Nanoha. Even Joyce wrote, '_Thus the unfacts, did we possess them, are too imprecisely few to warrant our certitude...' _but isn't Finnegan's Wake one of the hardest books written in the English language to read? What made you want to interpret Joyce's work?"

"You read it too Fate-chan!" Nanoha exclaimed excitedly after hearing Fate quote from the book. "Maybe this will make some sense to you, but still, don't laugh, okay?"

"I promise I won't laugh Nanoha"

"Positive?"

"Positive."

"I decided to write about Finnegan's Wake because of the mathematician in me. You see, when I began to learn about this book, and then to read it, I felt a strong connection between the way Joyce mingles the past, present and future of his characters with Einsteins concept on relativity. Finnegan's Wake is I think a description of inter-dimensional time travel." Nanoha stopped walking, her face reflecting the complex thoughts going on in her mind, but then remembering where she was, she looked to see if the girl standing next to her was going to laugh at the insane idea of believing in time travel... and all based on a fictional book!. But Fate's face showed real interest in what she had just said.

Nanoha continued. "Well, the more I connected Einstein and Joyce's works together, the more I began to believe that it is a distinct possibility that with the right circumstances one could step between one dimension and another and find themselves in the past or future, or even another present ... because while they would have traveled through the folds of time, they would actually be in an altered reality, never quite exactly the same. Joyce knew of Einsteins theories, and I think he was expressing this when he wrote such phrases as '_though a day be as dense as a decade_'..." Nanoha paused to sigh before continuing.

"But Fate-chan, I am just not sure how to express my thoughts so that others will see the possible probability of my idea."

On any other given day Fate might have laughed at Nanoha, thinking her hypothesis of time travel absurd, but that was before mysterious phone calls threatening the end of the world, talking dogs and people walking around like mechanical puppets. Something was different and Fate didn't like it. She had noted how Arf was paying attention to Nanoha as the girl had explained her concept for her paper. It was as if the dog was almost agreeing with Nanoha. Fate was glad to see her apartment just ahead. She needed someplace private to interrogate Arf and try to understand just what was going on.

"Wow, Nanoha, that is a lot to take in. I'm amazed that you really believe that there is I guess mathematical evidence that space can fold backwards and forwards, or even overlapping the present. Your right, your idea is out there but I guess nothing is impossible. I'm not sure how you will get others to accept your conjectures, I would just try to make as many factual connections between Joyce's prose and Einstein's scientific findings."

The two women stopped in front of the steps that led up to Fate's apartment building. It was an older building having seen its better day. Some of the steps were crumbling and the building had a grey look from years of accumulated soot on its facade. It was one of many buildings like it in this run down neighborhood.

"Nanoha, thank you for walking me home. Even though I can't say I enjoyed every minute of this morning, I am glad I got to meet you. Id invite you up but I really think I should get some rest now and I know you have your professor to see. So I guess this is goodbye." Fate turned to walk up the steps that led to her building's entrance, a sinking feeling starting to envelop her, when a hand reached out and grabbed her arm stopping her. She turned back and looked into Nanoha clear blue playful eyes.

"Not so fast Fate-chan. Mou, when you said you weren't good with friends I guess you weren't lying."

Nanoha reached into her bag and pulled out a small notebook and pen. She scribbled on a piece of paper and ripped it out of the book, handing it to Fate.

"Here Fate-chan, this is my cell phone number and address. You know, now that we are friends, this isn't goodbye, its more like 'see you later!"

Fate beamed her biggest smile yet, one that reached her eyes.

"Thank you Nanoha. May I?" and with that Fate took the pen out of Nanoha's hand and wrote her own phone number down on a corner of the piece of paper Nanoha had just given her. "And here is my phone number Nanoha, although I don't have a cell phone so this is my home number. I also wrote my address for you too." Fate tore the corner off and handed the piece of paper and pen back to Nanoha. For a moment their hands touched sending a pleasant tingle through each of them.

The two stood there for a bit longer looking at each other, both happy in the thought of having made a new friend.

They both smiled, and said together,

"See you later."


	5. Chapter 5: Exigency

**A/N**: Thank you for reviews and for those who follow or favored my story. I hope as I struggle to fit in each new randomly picked beginning sentence that it comes together for all of you.

As I was writing, not knowing where this story was going a thought came into my head about a story I read and so I have taken some inspiration from a book I read back in high school: "The Body Snatchers" by Jack Finney. Lance58 mentioned a movie with Nicole Kidman, I looked it up and indeed it is also based on this story. Although I am only using some aspects of the story.

I would appreciate any critique as I am getting into action now, something I have no idea how to write. I worry about continuity.

Thanks again for reading, now onwards...

* * *

Touch The Earth: Chapter Five: Exigency

**Bold **First sentence is from the book: Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfield

* * *

**The Fossil sisters lived in the Cromwell Road.** They had done so ever since the age of two when their father first moved the family there, a proud new home owner. The neighborhood before the family moved in was once filled with foreign diplomats and business men. For this reason, even though this was a neighbor hood in a Japanese city, the streets had names like Washington Street, and Visconti Court. By the time the Fossil family came to own the three story apartment house on Cromwell Road, most people who lived on the street were local families of merchants and lower government officials. The sisters, Victoria and Mariel, (their father thought that it would be fitting to give the girls English names since their home was on Cromwell Road) grew up there, married, raised their own families, watched the young move out, and became widows all while the neighborhood declined into its current woebegone state.

Now the sisters, lived together on the first floor, renting out the somewhat dilapidated apartments on the upper floors to students from the near by college, in this fashion squeaking out a comfortable retirement. They usually enjoyed having the young people in the building, but unfortunately this year the students who had rented the apartments were more into partying then studying. The landladies often had to speak to them about the noise that came from loud voices and loud music. The exception was the quiet and respectful girl who rented the small studio unit on the top floor, Testarrosa-san.

It had been a blessing when they had rented that apartment to Fate. The young college student while serious, rarely smiling, was always polite and kind. Fate would help to carry their bags from shopping up the stairs and into their apartment, or if a ceiling bulb needed to be changed in a hallway Fate would have it done before the landladies even had time to think about it.

Mariel Fossil was especially appreciate of the kindness their blonde tenant had shown her 10 year old granddaughter, Jasmine and her constant companion, a silver wolfish dog Jasmine's parents had given to her as a small puppy on her six birthday. Jasmine had named the dog Soranoko, but used the affectionate 'Sora' when calling her. It was back in Fate's second year living there that the friendship between the young child and young adult came about. They had known each other over the past year as Jasmine visited her grandmother often, and each would smile in their shy way, a nod of the head to say hello when passing in the hallway. One day Jasmine had been playing on the stairway when she fell hard. Fate had just arrived home and as she entered the building she saw the little girl at the foot of the stairs clutching her ankle and crying in pain. Sora, paced back and forth in an agitated manner, whining just a bit. Mariel Fossil while a bit deaf, had a grandmother's instinct and had gone to open her door to check on Jasmine only to find the little girl with a tear stained face in Fate's arms.

"It's alright Mariel-sama" Fate saw the concern in the elderly woman's eyes. "It's only a twisted ankle, but it is giving Jasmine some pain. She needs to ice it, then it needs to be wrapped and elevated. It's late now for going to the doctors, but I am sure if we do this she will be fine and tomorrow you can take her to the clinic when it opens just to make sure."

Mariel Fossil knew that Fate was a pre-med student, and top in her class. The young woman wouldn't fool around with an injury so she let Fate take care of her granddaughter. Over the next few days while Jasmine was immobile Fate had come to visit the child as often as she could, playing games and helping her with her homework. Before jasmine was well enough to go home to her parents, a bound was formed and since that time whenever Jasmine came over for a visit, after giving her grandmother a hug she would race upstairs to see if her "onee-sama" was home. Sora tagging along happily, looking forward to the treat she always got from the long haired blonde. Mariel could see that Fate struggled with the young girl's affections towards her, she was reticent about being called onee-sama, but she also saw under Fate's frequent blushes that she was moved by the affection and admiration her granddaughter showered on her. As far as Mariel Fossil knew, her granddaughter was the only one to ever visit the pretty college coed in the four years of living there. Fate while friendly, always kept to herself, never hanging out with the other students living in the building.

* * *

With her sister away visiting her son's family, Mariel Fossil had just had an upsetting morning because of the tenants on the floor above playing loud music and moving furniture for the past hour, so, it was a pleasant surprise to Mariel when she looked out her window to see Fate talking to a pretty young lady on the steps outside with a smile on her face. Mariel thought it was about time Fate made a friend. Before closing the curtain and walking back to the kitchen to put the kettle on for tea, she noticed a black sedan across the street with three people sitting in it. It was a no parking area so she thought it somewhat strange. It seemed to her the car's occupants were looking intently at the two women on the steps. Mariel shook her head, of course they were both beautiful young women and who wouldn't turn a head to look at them. She turned her attention to setting out the banana bread she had baked last night. Jasmine would be here soon for a visit with Sora and, (a smile spreading across Mariel Fossil's face) they definitely had to invite Fate down for tea... and a bit of teasing.

* * *

After Nanoha started walking towards the University, Fate and Arf walked into her apartment building. As they entered Fate could hear music coming from above and a slight frown crossed her face. She felt the other tenants often abused the generosity of their landladies by being too raucous. As she and Arf went up the stairs Fate realized the music was coming from the third floor, the one she lived on. '_Must be my neighbor,'_ thought Fate as they continued on up the stairs. When they reached the third floor landing Fate discovered the loud music was actually coming from her own apartment. Her frown only increased as she never had her music up loud enough to hear outside the door, never mind all the way down to the first floor! Besides, she was sure that when she had left this morning the radio was not on. She approached her door and when she went to unlock it discovered it was already open.

Slowly and with trepidation, Fate pushed her door open. She stood at the entrance of her apartment for a moment in shock. Arf gave a deep growl from the back of her throat. they both looked around quickly but who ever had entered the small studio apartment was now gone. Still, Arf went over to the only door in the apartment with the hairs on her back raised, lips spread in a snarl. She pushed the door open to find an empty bathroom, it's condition like the rest of Fate's apartment. Fate had come out of her daze and stepped into a disaster zone. Everything in the apartment was ripped apart and tossed aside. Her clothes were in shreds, her mattresses gashed, the stuffing falling out like entrails. The small kitchen table that also served as her desk was upside down, one of its legs broken. Every draw was emptied out onto the walked through the debris to the radio that was blasting out music still and turned it off. Then it hit Fate hard and she franticly pushed things aside looking for the small box that held the only items that meant anything to her. Finally under the remains of a chair she found the crushed box. Scattered nearby were shreds of the letter her mother had written, a torn photograph of her family, the three of them before Alicia's illness, smiling, and a yellow triangular broach her sister had given her on their sixth birthday. Alicia had named it Bardiche. She knelt on the floor to pick up each torn piece of the letter and photograph, and then Bariche, placing it all back into the crushed box. She wanted to cry so much, but tears of grief and sadness had not run down her face since the day of her mother's funeral.

"Why did this happen Arf, I don't understand, why me!" Fate turned to the red wolf who came up and sat in front of her.

"Fate, I am sorry that this is happening to you, but as you can see it is very serious. These "_people"_ will stop at nothing to achieve their objective."

"What objective. Who are these "_people"_ as you say, and for that matter, who are you Arf? This is the first time we are alone. I couldn't talk while I was with Nanoha. I think she is someone I can trust, a friend, so I don't want her to get involved in all of this. I need answers Arf." Fate looked Arf in the eye.

"I'll give you what answers I can Fate." Arf began. "I think you realize I may not be from this world, or to put it better, not from this Dimension. Nanoha was not far off in her hypothesis, I was impressed. Since you are sitting down, I will show you one more thing to prove I am not from here."

Right in front of Fate's eyes there now stood a tall buxom figured woman wearing a white top that ended two inches below her breasts, and dark pink shorts. Her outfit was completed with a black semi cape and skirt. She was beautiful, but definitely not human. She still had wolf ears which were now easily hidden when she pulled them back, blending into her long red hair, and she had a wolf's tail, not so easily disguised, so Arf tucked it into her half skirt.

Fate sat there with her mouth ajar. She thought she would faint again her head was pounding so much. _'Get a grip on yourself,' _Fate thought. _"You can't afford to keep passing out each time something strange presents itself to you.'_ Fate had a feeling she was about to see many strange things, some even horrifying, in the hours and days ahead.

"Ah Fate, it is impolite to stare with your mouth open."

Fate quickly closed her mouth, blinking rapidly. "Do you have any other forms I should know about Arf?"

"No, but I can be either a grown wolf as you have seen or a pup. Being in the pup form helps me to save energy. Same for my human shape, I can also present as a young girl."

"Oh, ah... oh" was all Fate could muster for an answer. She laughed nervously.

"Fate, I want to tell you more but first I think we should get out of this place and go somewhere safe. They obviously know you live here and could be watching the building as we speak."

"Okay, that makes sense. Let me see if I can find something to change into, grab my wallet and we ca..." Before Fate could finish she was interrupted.

"What happened?" A quiet and scared voice asked, that of a young girl. Fate and Arf turned to see a 10 year old auburn haired girl standing in the doorway, her large silver dog by her side. Arf narrowed her eyes. Sora growled. Then there was an imperceptible nod between the two. Fate saw Jasmine's eyes turning watery, tears were only a moment away. Quickly she stood up and went to the small child hugging her.

"It's Okay Jasmine. It seems someone wanted to play a not so funny trick on me. But I'm alright."

"But onee-sama, all your stuff is broken." With this Jasmine did begin to cry.

"I know, but as long as no one was hurt, then anything can be replaced, so don't cry." Fate reached with her hand and wiped away the girls tears. "Let's go down to your Grandmother's. I will have to tell her what happened. Arf, while I take Jasmine back and speak to the landlady, can you scrounge around and find me some clothes to wear, and see if you can find my wallet."

Arf nodded yes then came up to Fate and whispered into her ear, "Fate-chan, we can't have the police involved." Fate gave Arf a look of understanding then turned to walk the little girl back down to her landlady's apartment. When they got there Jasmine let go of Fate's hand that she had been holding and ran to her Grandmother to hug her.

"Obasan, someone did a bad thing to Fate and broke all her stuff!"

"What's this? Testarossa-san, is it true? Are you alright dear? Please sit down and tell me what has happened."

"I'm alright Fossil-sama. I am sorry for the trouble I am causing you." Fate walked over and sat on the settee, Jasmine joining her while Marial Fossil sat across from them in her favorite easy chair.

"You are not to blame here so there is no need for you to apologize."

"I'm afraid I know who did it." Fate looked down as she spoke. She knew she was skirting the truth, but she also could not outright lie with a straight face. "They didn't do any damage to the apartment except for the front lock and I will pay to repair that. I just wanted to let you know that it happened but that everything will be alright. I will talk to those who did it and resolve the issue we have. Fossil-sama, I prefer not to get the police involved in this as it is a personal matter."

"I don't know Testarossa-san, I think it would be best to call the police. And don't think about paying for that lock, I will take care of that as your landlady."

"No, please don't call the police in this matter as I won't press charges. As I said I know who is behind this and I am sure it can be worked out so it won't happen again. I am truly sorry to bring trouble to your home. Please let me pay for the damages."

"Please stop apologizing and stop insisting on paying for damages you did not cause. I trust you Testarossa-san and will hold off calling the police, but I won't do so if it happens again. I am worried about your safety. I knew that when I saw those people looking at you and your friend out front it was strange. I wi-"

Fate looked up at her landlady quickly, an intensity in her crimson eyes. "What people Fossil-sama?"

"They were in the black sedan parked across the street in the no parking zone, a man and two women I think. They were older then you and your friend. I can't tell you more then that though."

"You said it was a black sedan, did you notice anything else about the car?"

"I really am sorry but I am not good with car models, they all look the same, I can only say for sure that it was a sedan and I think an older model. I happened to look back out the window shortly after you came in and I noticed it was gone."

"Do you know what direction it went in?"

"Well didn't see them drive away but the car was facing towards the University, the same way your friend went."

Fate's face went pale for a moment then she jumped up from her seat and rushed out the door leaving and astonished old lady and young girl behind. Fate had a bad feeling as she started to run as fast as she could up the road in the direction Nanoha had taken. It was only a few blocks to the university. She knew instinctively that the people Fossil-sama saw in the black sedan were the ones who were involved with wrecking her place. It was obvious they had been searching for something, probably what ever was in the locker at the station the caller had told her about this morning. It was something she could use to stop what ever it was that was going on from happening. She had to get to it, but first she had to get to Nanoha and make sure her new friend was safe. Fate had to run between the pedestrians on the sidewalk, zigging and zagging, sometimes bumping into them. Some would yell at her angrily to watch out where she was going, while a few just stared blankly at her and continued on. Fate ignored them all, she was only focused on moving forward, of getting to Nanoha in time. Perspiration broke out on her forehead, her palms were sweaty.

Just ahead Fate could see the gates at the entrance of Uminari University, and as her anxiety rose, a black sedan pulled over just in front of it. As quickly as she was running, she somehow found the energy to move faster. Just then the rear passenger door opened and a blonde woman in a long gray jacket stepped out. It was then that Fate noticed another woman with short red hair walking towards the car wearing the same attire, and sandwiched between them a woman with chestnut color hair in a dark blue jacket. '_Nanoha!' _ thought Fate.

"N-Na- Nanoha!" Fate was breathless but she shouted as loud as she could.

She saw Nanoha's head start to turn just as the woman from behind pushed her towards the other woman in gray and the open car door. Nanoha stumbled forward looking around in confusion. Both women grabbed one of Nanoha's arms pulling and pushing her into the back seat of the car. Fate reached the car and grabbed the red head's arm as she leaned part way out to pull the door close. Fate yanked with all her might, jerking the woman out of the car. The man put the car into gear and started to speed forward but Fate at the last moment managed to jump into the space now unoccupied in the back seat.

Nanoha turned her head towards Fate, fear clouding her cerulean blue eyes. "Fate what is happening!"

Fate didn't answer Nanoha, instead she reached over her to pry the other woman's hands from Nanoha's arm. Just as she did she saw the woman reach into her pocket pulling out a gun. Fate lunged forward across Nanoha, who was now pinned down upon the car's backseat by Fate's body, and grabbed for the gun. The two began to wrestle for control of the gun. The man drove the car away from the crowded university area heading towards the outskirts of the city. As he veered to the right, the open door smacked into a parked vehicle ripping the door off. The impact caused Fate to momentarily loosen her grip on the woman who pressed her advantage, swinging the gun towards Fate while pushing her back towards the opening left by the door. Now the woman in gray was sprawled across Nanoha pinning her to the seat. Nanoha struggled to get her hands and arms free. She could not fully see what was going on as her face was pressed towards the seat back but she had a sense that Fate's position had become precarious.

And it had. Fate now found herself on the edge of the rear seat, partially falling out of the car. The driver seeing in the rearview mirror what was going on swung the car to the right in order to dislodge Fate. Fate's eyes became big with fear as she saw that he intended to swipe another parked vehicle with her dangling out. Adrenaline coursed through her veins and with all her might she pushed the woman back enough so she could pull herself in just before they scraped against the parked vehicle. The car swung violently causing Fate to fall onto the floor, across Nanoha's legs and completely letting go of the woman she had been struggling with. And while the woman also was tossed forward she settled back into a seated position still in possession of the gun. She turned her blank expression towards Fate aiming the gun at her heart. There was a sudden muzzle flash and the sound of a gun going off as she pulled the trigger. Tires screeched, then all went black.

_To be continued..._


	6. Chpt 6: She Ain't Heavy, She's My Nanoha

**A/N A bit behind in posting - but this is my longest chapter yet. Also, I got both lucky and unlucky with this chapter's first sentence pick. It was a great sentence to fit with the cliffhanger from chapter 5, but it also forced my hand in revealing a key evil player in the story. Still - it's not like you have not guessed this might be the way it goes... so I went with it. **

**Thank you to all who have reviewed, follow or favored my story. : )**

**As always, your reviews are needed and appreciated, they help me to review what I wrote and think about how I will move the story forward. PLUS they motivate me.**

**Bold** = Arbitrarily selected first sentence of a book in my not so infinite library.

_'Italics'_ = Thoughts

Today's sentence comes from the author Patricia Cornwall and her book Scarpetta

* * *

Touch The Earth: Chapter Six: She Ain't Heavy, She's My Nanoha

**Brain tissue clung like wet, gray lint to the sleeves of Dr. Jail ****Scaglietti****'s surgical gown, and the front was splashed with blood.** He stepped away from the autopsy having just plopped the organ he had cut out of the body into a styrofoam cooler next to the table, and looked across at the next body waiting for his services, a once lovely blonde; the blood caking her hair had dried turning it to a red so dark it was almost black. He sniffed and inhaled the coppery perfume. Around him a number of his assistants preformed various procedures throughout the lab. Each worked quietly and succinctly, focused on their task at hand, never showing an once of emotion on their faces. His face therefore was in stark contrast. Unlike their dull faces, Scaglietti wore a gleeful smirk upon his lips, his eyes shown with mirth. He was a hunter after all, he thought, as he stepped up to the blonde's body to begin the second autopsy. He looked down upon the bloodied corpse, inhaling once more the sweet coppery smell, as open, dead blue eyes stared back. "...and this is going to be such a good hunt." he said out loud, his smirk turning into a full satanic smile as he laughed, and cut, and laughed, and cut.

* * *

_Several hours earlier..._

As Nanoha walked away from the blonde she had a smile on her face. She was excited at the idea that Fate-chan had agreed to be friends and that they exchanged phone numbers. _"Nyahaha..." _Nanoha laughed to herself as she thought that she would definitely give Fate-chan a call tonight. After all, she felt responsible to check up on her "_patient_". Nanoha felt a slight blush reach her cheeks as she recalled how Fate had teased her about her nursing skills, and her ability to fill out a uniform.

Nanoha shook her head and decided that she had better turn her thoughts away from the crimson eyed beauty she had just met this morning. She needed to focus on her upcoming appointment with her English lit professor which was where she was headed to now. She began to think about what Fate-chan had said about making as many factual connections between Joyce and Einstein, rather then focusing in on her conjectures about the actual possibility of time travel. If she used known facts to tie Einstein's Theory of Relativity to James Joyce's writing in 'Finnegan's Wake' that should satisfy her professor while still getting the gist of her concept across.

She knew that her English Lit professor was not the one to go to with her hypotheses on time travel. For that she had her math professor, Dr. Scaglietti to discuss her ideas with. Just a few days ago Nanoha had what she thought was a very fruitful discussion with the brilliant math professor on general relativity, special relativity and wormholes. She had presented him with a formula that she had developed after thinking about Joyce's fictional characters. What if 'Finnegan's Wake' was a sort of code that grappled to explain special relativity based upon Joyce's interpretations of Einstein's theories about general relativity. Nanoha's formula focused on geometries of space-time to create a closed time-like curve or more specifically she thought of it as time-space multi-dimensional folds. Dr. Scaglietti did not laugh at her conjectures, rather he worked with her on the complex mathematical equation she had brought to him.

As she thought back to the work they did, she realized how fortunate she was to be able to work with such a brilliant man... if only he wasn't so, well, so creepy! She shuddered a bit as she recalled how whenever they worked together he had a disturbing habit of stealthily walking up behind her, bringing his lips close to her ear and after letting out a hissed chuckle, muttering "Well, well what have we here Takamachi-san" She jumped out of her skin each time.

Nanoha was brought out of her thoughts when she felt someone bump into her from behind. She was beginning to feel a bit annoyed. Even though there was plenty of space on the sidewalk the person behind her was crowding her. _'Why doesn't she go around me.' _Nanoha thought. She was forced to take a step to the right bringing her closer to the curve just as a black sedan pulled over in front of her. She saw the door open and a blonde woman with blue eyes in a gray jacket step out. Their eyes made contact and for Nanoha it was like looking into a void. She felt a brief shutter pass through her.

"N-Na- Nanoha!"

Nanoha heard a breathless voice shouting out her name. She looked around in confusion as she was crowded in more by the red headed woman just behind her, so close Nanoha could feel her breath upon the back of her neck. Turning her head further back she looked past the woman to see Fate running towards her, a panicked look on her face. Confusion stormed into Nanoha's mind. _'Why is Fate here? Why does she have that look on her face?' _

Nanoha stumbled. Before she could recover, the woman from behind took her left arm and began to maneuver her towards the open car door. At the same time the blonde woman grabbed her right arm and began to pull her in though the car door opening. Everything happened so fast, her mind could not keep up with what was happening to her. First she felt herself landing on the backseat of the car, her face pushed into the seat back, her body wedged between the two women who had grabbed her, their grips on her arms vise like. Then for a moment she felt a release on her left side as the redheaded woman leaned away from her, a jerk and then she could suddenly move her left arm. She used it to push her face away from the seat and start to turn her fear filled eyes towards the open door. Just then the car started to accelerate. What she saw as she turned shocked her - burgundy eyes filled with hard rage, and something more. In that split moment Nanoha saw something deeper then rage in Fate's eyes, there was fear and worry but the blonde seemed to sweep these aside by the intensity of her rage, but for Nanoha that hard emotion in those crimson orbs filled her with a sense of security and hope. She felt protected when looking into Fate's anger and a small bit of the fear that clouded her cerulean blue eyes disappeared.

"Fate what is happening!" Nanoha cried out in a shaky voice.

Suddenly the grip on her right arm became tighter if such a thing was possible. She felt as if the circulation in her arm had stopped and she could feel the other blonde's fingernails digging into her flesh, breaking the skin. "Ahh" she cried as the woman pulled her back. At that moment Fate leaped across her body pinning her underneath, but before her face was once again pressed against the seat back, she saw the woman in gray pull a gun from her pocket. Nanoha's heart went cold with new-found fear. Fate was in danger. She struggled to move but found both her arms were pinned down by Fate's body and the woman's relentless hold on her arm. Nanoha was angry at herself for being so useless in this moment. Fate was doing all she could to help her, but Fate was just a girl, like her. Why was this even happening? She needed to get her hands free, she needed to help her new friend.

Suddenly the car swerved and there was a grinding crunch of metal with a final ripping sound as Nanoha realized the open rear door which had not yet fully closed from the cars momentum must have been smashed off. The strong jerk and shutter from the car caused Fate's weight to shift off her body and fall back towards gapping opening in the car's side. Nanoha felt a release from Fate's weight that had pinned her down, only to be quickly replaced replaced by the weight of the woman with the gun. Nanoha realized that Fate's life was in danger and she frantically tried to turn her head, to move her arms. Tears filled her eyes in fear and frustration at her unsuccessful attempts. She tried instead to push herself up with her legs which she had some ability to move. She pushed hard against the back of the front seat causing the woman who was struggling with Fate to slip back off balance just a bit. Nanoha could feel Fate start to push the woman back. The intense struggle went on for a few minutes as each tried to gain the upper hand. Then all chaos happened.

The car in taking a sharp turn had careened with something causing all the occupants in the back seat to bump about. Fate ended up on the rear floor sprawled across Nanoha's legs. She looked up at Nanoha for a moment, a look of sorrow in her eyes, before Fate turned to face the other blonde, the one with the gun. Somehow this woman had ended back in a seated position still holding both Nanoha's right arm and the gun which she aimed point blank at Fate's chest. Nanoha had finally found herself in a position where she was semi-seated upright with one arm finally freed. Fate was across her legs but she could see clearly what was happening. "Nooooo!_" _Nanoha screamed as the woman was about to pull the trigger of the gun, Nanoha reached out quickly, knocking the woman's arm up, away from Fate. The gun discharged hitting the driver in the head, his blood and brains splattered across the car.

The black sedan, which had sped down an alley, veered into a dumpster, flipping and rolling over several times till it came to a rest on its crushed rooftop. The dumpster had landed on its side from the impact, spilling trash out into the alley mixed in with shredded car parts. Minutes passed by without a sound until a hubcap fell off the front wheel tire.

* * *

Arf had just finished finding some clothing for Fate to change into from the mess that was left of her apartment, the whole time enduring the stare of the large silver dog that still sat in the apartment doorway. Having had enough of Sora's silent starring Arf finally asked, "So, what's your story."

Sora and Arf had recognized that they were of a similar kind when they had first met, you could say it was their keen sense of smell, or maybe because they were the only two like themselves in this whole world.

Sora puffed her chest up, a few hairs rising on the back of her neck before the dog spoke, "That's what I want to ask. I have known Fate-san for all the years she has lived here and I have never seen you around her before."

Arf chuckled a bit to herself as she put Fate's clothes into a gym bag she found that was still mostly in one piece having only its pockets ripped open, the main chamber and strap still intact. Arf turned towards Sora and sat down in front of her, transforming back into her giant red wolf form.

'_The silver haired mutt might find it more comfortable to talk with me in this form. I don't feel she's a threat, but I still need to get whatever information I can from her. Sora, like me, is not from this dimension. So, the question is, why is she here?' _thought Arf_._

"Well to answer your question, the reason you never saw me around Fate-chan before is I just met her today." Arf smiled at the younger dog, but her eyes became like steel, her voice a growl.

"Now, you tell me... how did you come to be here? I know you are not from this dimension. Depending on your answer I may let you go freely, or I may have to arrest you."

"On whose authority? I don't remember any talking dogs as part of the Japanese police force!" Sora tried to retort back with a gruff boldness, but it was clear from the slight timbre in her voice that Arf had succeeded in intimidating her.

"I am a special investigator of the Time-Space Administration Bureau. The Bureau is an inter-dimensional security force. I have been given a directive to use all means necessary to complete my mission here on non-administrated planet number 97. Earth as you know it. Now, I will not ask again, answer my questions Sora." Arf stood up on all four legs, pushing her face within inches of Sora's.

Gulp. "I-I was sent here as a pup, by my pack. In my dimension the world has been devastated by an invasive species. The high council of my pack determined that the only hope to take back my world and save everyone is to seek out a special jewel seed. It was traced to this world."

"Hmmm, so, is that why you are with that young girl Jasmine? Jewel seeds are dangerous as you must know. The TSAB investigates and locks away for the safety of the universe powerful items such as jewel seeds, lost logia, and other dangerous devices."

"Yes,... yes we know they are dangerous, but this jewel seed is unique, you see it is a part of a living person."

"Jasmine?"

"Yes, Jasmine. In a few years she will awaken to her power, and with it she will be able to distort the flow of time. This ability will make the difference in our fight against those who invaded my dimension."

"I see. Jasmine does not know then that her trusted and loving puppy dog is really a body-guard, waiting to use her as a weapon."

"When you say it that way, well there is nothing I can say in my defense. But I promise you I will give her the choice when the time comes." Sora stood up to face Arf head on. "But Arf-san, I will stay by Jasmine, and I must do all I can to save my people. She is our only hope"

Arf reflected on what Sora had just told her. It sounded like Sora's world may have been infected by the same time-dimensional traveling species whose leader she was after. Arf was not the first special investigator of the TSAB to reach Earth after pursuing the leader of the menacing invader species here but they had lost contact with Captain Tiida Lanster not too long after he had arrived. He had with him a device that many believed could lead to the defeat of their enemy, but that had not yet been tested thoroughly by the Bureau. Time being of the essence, the high council decided to take the risk of using it on a non administrated planet. That planet was Earth. '_hmf_', thought Arf. '_Is the TSAB much different in wanting to use powerful and untested devices then Sora's high council?_' The last report TSAB headquarters got from Lanster indicated a misdirected transmission he had made. It took a bit of work from their communication officers but that message was traced to the girl whose wrecked room Arf now stood in.

"Alright Sora, I will leave you with Jasmine for now. Still a mage, if that is what Jasmine is, on a non-magical world such as non Administrated planet 97, and one with time shifting abilities could cause harm to herself, and to the populace at large. I will report this conversation to TSAB headquarters for their deliberations. Sora, if your world is truly in danger, then the Time Space Administration Bureau will do all it can to help. You and your people are not alone. That said, the mission I am on is of the highest priority and no interference will be tolerated. Is that understood?"

Sora nodded her head. Her tail between her legs.

"Come on, let's go join 'our masters'." Arf joked as she transformed back into her human shape. She picked up Fate's bag slinging it across her shoulders, and with Sora headed down to the landlady's apartment. When they reached the first floor the apartment's door stood open so they just walked in. "Fate-chan," Arf called out, "I have your change of clo..." Arf never finished what she started to say for Fate was no longer in the apartment.

Turning to Fate's landlady and her granddaughter, both with surprised looks upon their faces, Arf asked, "Where is Fate-chan, Fossil-san?"

"Well, we were talking about her new friend and then about a black sedan I saw parked outside earlier when Testarossa-san suddenly just ran out the door without a word." The elderly woman told Arf.

Arf spun on her heals and just like Fate, she ran out of the apartment. As she exited the building she had already transformed back into her four-legged form. She paused only for a moment to sniff the air with her canine nose. Picking up Fate's sent, she raced down the street towards the university.

* * *

Fate could barely breathe. This was the first thing she had become aware of, even before opening her eyes. Her face was pushed down hard against something soft and warm that smothered her. Her head ached, even worst then before, if that was possible, and it felt like a hot iron pressed against her left arm. That was when it all came back and her eyes shot open to an endless sea of dark blue.

Fate recalled how she had raised her arm in a defensive position just before the gun had fired. She had been shot! But not the fatal bullet she had expected. Out of the corner of her eye she had seen Nanoha reach out at the last minute in a desperate attempt to save her life. _'The gunshot must have hit my arm, and then the driver,' _Fate thought_, 'and that caused the car to crash.' _She could remember bits and pieces of what had happened next. The jarring impact. Being lifted up, causing Nanoha's legs to be freed, sending the brunette out of control towards the front. Fate instinctively wrapped her arms around the girl's waist, pulling Nanoha back in tight against her, holding on for dear life.

Nanoha. Queasy metal somersaults. Nanoha. Blackness. Then later, dark blue. Nanoha!

Nanoha was still in her arms Fate realized. The dark blue was her jacket. Fate's face was forced into her chest. It seemed the car had compacted in its tumbles, and now Fate lay prone on top of Nanoha with her arms still wrapped around the girl, her hands between Nanoha's back and the car roof Nanoha was laying upon. Above Fate by a mere inch, the rear floor. They were wedged in tight with literally no room to breathe. Still, she tried to call out to the girl in a muffled croak. "Na - Nano-ha." There was no response. Fear took possession of Fate's body. She managed to turn her head a bit to the right and freeing her mouth and nose from the fabric of Nanoha's coat, she gulped in some air. Pain immediately engulfed her ribcage, causing a low groan to escape her lips. She didn't want to breathe in that deeply again as she knew at the very least her ribs were badly bruised, but she had to, she had to call out to Nanoha, she had to know the girl was alright.

"Nanoha," Fate called out again, a tremble in her voice. No reply came so she called again, and again. "Nanoha. Answer me, Nanoha. Wake up please." A sob escaped her throat. Fate's burgundy eyes burned and misted over till finally with a second sob the tears ran down her face. The pains of her physical injuries seemed to evaporate with the rise of the deep hurt her heart was feeling. Sorrow began to engulf her as Fate started to succumb to feelings of loss. Not since the day of her mother's and sister's funeral when she was a child had Fate cried out from overwhelming sadness.

"No, no, no, no! This c-can't be hap-pening. Oh please g-god help me help Nanoha!"

'_Why can't I ever help someone._' Fate thought angrily to herself. '_I failed mother and onee-san. I couldn't protect them. Now, now I have failed my friend. I failed Nanoha. She didn't deserve this, all she did was help me and look what happened to her. God, why couldn't I save her!_'

"Nanoha d-didn't deserve this. It's all m-my fault. I-I am just use-less." Fate moaned between her sobbing and gasps for breath.

"T-that's not true, (huff) Fate-chan. (huff) P-please (huff) do not t-think (huff) that of yourself." Between each struggle for breath came the faint and hesitant retort from just above her head.

"Nanoha! N-Nanoha. Na-Na- Nanoha." Fate cried harder, her emotions out of control.

"Shhhh. Shhhh now. (huff) Mou, Fate-chan is a cr-crybaby." Nanoha said in as soothing a voice as she could muster considering the pain that wracked her whole body. "T-thank you for saving me Fate. (huff) I tho-ught (huff) I was going t-to die (huff) till I felt your arms w-wrap around me. (huff) S-somehow at that moment F-Fate I k-knew we were going to m-make it." Nanoha's head was a bit above Fate so she could raise her head a few inches to look down to see the blonde crown of Fate's head. She found the sight reassuring till the pain and her inability to get a full breath caught up to her and she dropped her head back down.

"Ugh"

"Nanoha, what's wrong? Are you hurt?" Concern filled Fate's voice. She tried to move her head so she could see Nanoha's face above her, but the tight fit of the space they were in prevented it.

"Mmmm... I must have h-hit my (huff) head pretty hard. I'm f-f-feeling a bit diz-zy (huff) and faint headed. (huff) It's so hard to breathe." Nanoha's voice was becoming blurry between her gasps for air.

"Hold on Nanoha! Let me see what I can do to get us out of here."

"Oh... Okay. (huff) I t-think I w-w-will just c-close (huff) my eyes for a b-bit th..." Nanoha's voice became barely a whisper.

"No! Don't do that Nanoha. I need you to stay with me." Fate felt the fear for Nanoha's well-being rising back within her. She pried her arms out from under Nanoha hoping that even that little difference would give her more space to breathe.

"..."

"Nanoha? Nanoha!" Fate called out desperately to her but there was no reply.

* * *

Quattro walked briskly out of the feeding rooms, reaching into her pocket for her ringing cell phone.

"Report" She answered.

"Attempted to capture Takamachi Nanoha as ordered." said the red-head standing on the sidewalk just outside Uminari University, "After securing her in car intercepted by Testarossa who managed to come between Takamachi and self. The others pulled away heading for our agreed destination with both Takamachi and Testarossa. I have become separated and they are no longer responding. Success of operation is unclear at this time."

Quattro was incapable of feeling anxiety, but that did not mean that she could not intellectually understand the predicament she would find herself in if she reported failure of the operation to capture Takamachi to her leader, Dr. Jail Scaglietti.

"Proceed to the assigned meeting point by following the projected path of the car. I will meet you there with reinforcements."

"Understood." The red-head in gray put her cell phone back into her pocket and began to walk at a quick pace.

Quattro made a call on her cell phone. It rang twice before being answered. She heard a woman's voice on the other end.

"Yes?"

"Gather the numbers" is all Quattro said before hanging up. She proceeded to exit out of the structure she was in and headed to the parking lot where her car was.

* * *

Arf had noticed the red-headed woman in gray standing on the sidewalk, talking on her cell phone. She smelled of Fate. And, she was one of them. Arf could tell. Quickly she ducked into a doorway looking around to see if anyone noticed her. When she saw all was clear she transformed back once again into her humanoid form, tucking her tail into her half skirt. She still had Fate's bag across her shoulders, reaching in she pulled out a black hooded sweat shirt with a large yellow letter U on the back. Hurriedly she put it on and pulled the hood up to obscure her red hair and wolf ears. She saw the woman starting to walk away briskly. Arf followed. '_Just be alright Fate.' _she thought.

* * *

Fate felt the sweat trickling down her face, and every step was excruciating as she carried the unconscious Nanoha away from the scene of the accident on her back. She had to get Nanoha medical help, but first she needed to find somewhere safe. Fate had a gut feeling that the people who tried to abduct Nanoha weren't done yet.

Thinking back on what had happened, it had taken some time to extradite herself from the rear seat of the crushed black sedan. When she first stood up she almost fainted from the pain. Her ribs were on fire and she had lacerations and bruises everywhere from the beating she had taken as the car had rolled over, but a hasty self-examination led her to believe that nothing was broken. Her arm was another story. The bullet had only grazed her, but she had bled a lot, and the injury was still bleeding. Fate knew she had to keep a clear head so she took the necessary time to tear off a part of her shirt and wrapped her arm to stem the bleeding.

When she decided to extricate Nanoha from the wreck, Fate knew with her pre-med training that it was medically best not to move the brunette, especially as she had complained of hitting her head before falling unconscious again, but Fate had been afraid of waiting for 'help' to arrive. She knew that she had only a short window of time to get Nanoha and herself away from the site of the accident before they were found by those who wanted to kidnap Nanoha. In fact, as Fate was wiggling her way out of the car herself, she had wondered why the accident had not attracted the attention of people already, but once she got out, she had her answer. It seemed that the driver had headed into the abandoned warehouse district down by the old port area. In recent years Uminari City had gone through a series of urban renewal projects, one of which was the new harbor side which included a new shipping port with a modern storage facility. The old brick warehouses were no longer needed and many were razed. Of those that remained, they stood as empty carcasses, relics long forgotten. The only people who came to this part of the city were those who did not want to be found.

Carefully Fate had pulled Nanoha from the car wreck. She had noted a cut on Nanoha's cheek, and a bump on her forehead that mirrored her own from that morning. This was most likely the cause of Nanoha's unconscious state Fate reasoned. There were also some minor lacerations on Nanoha's legs but not anything to be concerned with. Without the girl being awake it was hard to tell what injuries she had exactly, but Fate did the best she could to examine her, opening her navy blue coat and feeling along Nanoha's torso. Satisfied, she closed her jacket back up. It had been a miracle that they got out of the accident alive, never mind if, as it now appeared, they both received only minor injuries. The other two occupants had not been so lucky. The driver was still in what remained of the front seat, blood everywhere. The woman had gone through the front windshield. Her crumpled body lay almost fifty feet from the car.

Since then, Fate had been walking for twenty minutes with Nanoha's dead weight draped over her back. Every once in a while she had to stop and listen carefully for Nanoha's breathing. Needing that assurance before finding the strength to take another gut wrenching step. Her hands were clammy, her clothes soaked with sweat, her blonde hair matted to her face. Fate stumbled, falling to her knees, putting out her arm to prevent herself from face palming the pavement. Only when the flash of pain seared up her arm did she realize she had used her injured arm. It started to bleed again. She tried to bring her breath back under control, her head bent down, her long golden hair obscured her face. She was so exhausted she wanted to just lie down right there. '_No.' _Fate thought to herself. _ 'I have to keep going. Nanoha needs my help. A few more blocks then I will look for a place to hide us till I can figure out what to do next_.' Slowly she got back up to her feet, shifted Nanoha's weight on her back and took another step, winding her way through the back alleys, taking random turns to throw off anyone who might try to follow them. With every step Fate kept a mantra going on in her head...

'_I'm strong, strong enough to carry her. She ain't heavy, she's my Nanoha.'_

* * *

Uno was the first to find the remains of the black sedan. Soon Quattro and the other numbers arrived. As much as one can in a monotone voice, Quarto barked out orders:

"Cinque, Tre, Sette and Nove pursue Takamachi Nanoha. Permission to eliminate any obstacle. We must prevent Testarossa from finding the device left by the TSAB investigator."

"Right." The five replied in unison setting off on their task, checking for any evidence of where Takamachi and Testarossa might have gone. Finding some blood drops heading away from the car, they quickly went off in the same direction.

"Wendi, Due, Otto, Sein you are to clean this sight. Get the bodies back to the doctor.

"Right." the four said in unison. Wendi and Sein began making phone calls to bring in a team of cleaners from their organization while the other two began to gather the strewn bits and pieces, evidence of the crash back into a pile for easier removal.

Before giving the next set of orders the red-head in gray finally arrived at the scene. She stopped and waited for Quattro to speak to her.

"Uno, head up an investigation of the TSAB special investigator. We must find the device first. We must know what the TSAB is up to at this time. Dieci will assist you"

"Right." Said Dieci who stood at attention next to Uno, waiting for an order. Uno in the mean time, as efficient as ever was already making calls to her contacts. She quickly went to her vehicle followed by Dieci and left the scene.

Quattro looked about her before making her next move.

"Schach, you will report with me to the Doctor."

"Right."

In the shadows Arf watched. She had a strong scent of Fate's blood in her nostrils. She wanted to go after her quickly to ensure the blonde woman was safe, but first she had to find a way to attach a transmitter to something that would lead her back to their hideout. She thought she spied Nanoha's bag a few feet from the rear of the remains of the car. She took out a pill sized round object and after a few adjustments, sent it rolling towards the bag. It maneuvered under trash, around debris, stopping when sensing a presence coming near, till finally it made its way into the ripped bag. Arf watched as a moment later one of the women picked the bag up and moved it near the two bodies they had laid out near the car.

She silently turned and took after Fate and Nanoha.

* * *

_Several hours later..._

Within the laboratory a happy tune could be heard whistling amongst test tubes and surgical tables.

The good doctor stopped his merry tune for just a moment while he gave a good yank to pull the organ from the dead woman's body. With a slight turn he tossed it into the styrofoam cooler which held the organ from the man who before his head was blown off, had last been seen driving a black sedan.

Pulling the bloody rubber surgical gloves from his hands, he began to whistle his happy tune again.

To be continued...

* * *

A/N endnotes:

The title of this chapter comes from the 1970 hit "He Ain't Heavy, He's my Brother" by the Hollies.

I have included 2 actual OC - in this and Chapter 5, Sora and Jasmine. BUT they are not my original characters, they are the invention of **KikoTsukinamura**. They are in the story because **KT** made a request to add Jasmine in a review of Touch The Earth. So for fun I accepted the challenge. I used them as a device to fill in some information about Fate's character in this AU and from Arf. All other characters, no matter how minor are based upon characters from the MGLN universe.

Question: Can anyone tell me what twnso means?

PLEASE REVIEW AS THIS AUTHOR IS LOOKING TO IMPROVE.

Thanks for reading.


	7. 7: Night Falls, Feelings Rise

A/N:

Hello again -

**Bold** = sentence from book

'_Italic' _= thoughts

Regular = narrative

"regular" = dialog

The first sentence for this chapter is from** Enid Bagnold's **book** - National Velvet**

Disclaimer: I do not own any creative property of MGLN

* * *

Chapter 7: Night Falls, Feelings Rise

**Unearthly humps of land curved into the darkening sky like the backs of browsing pigs, like the rumps of elephants. **If you stood on the nearest hill, which was more like a mule's ass then a pig's back or an elephant's rump, and looked down and to the west, you would see the lights of Uminari City turning on, one here, one there, and then in clusters till the city was aglow with a warm yellowish electricity. In the city streets passing cars created tail light trails of red and orange. On the tallest of buildings more red lights were blinking on and off warning aircraft of impending dangers. Dotted across the black surface of the ocean were the lights from passing boats, reflecting much like the night sky. If you were standing on that mule's ass of a hill you would think the sight beautiful.

But one area, almost a quarter of the size of the city itself stood as black as the sea beyond the lights of Uminari CIty. Barely a light escaped from the maw of the old port and warehouse district. Once the economic heart of the city, as times changed, new industries and technologies caused the area to become abandoned. Through rezoning and urban development, a new port and business area had been built just to the north. Now buildings in the old port area, many more than a few centuries old stood in decay, boarded up, amidst vacant lots. In the next few years investment bankers will repurpose these old buildings making them into luxury loft condos and boutique shops, surrounded by city parks, a place where the happening people will flock. For now though, it was a dismal place that no one would want to get caught dead in except for the rift raft low life of the city, and it was where for the past forty-five minutes while trying to cover their trail as best she knew how... which wasn't very much, Fate had been staggering through with an unconscious Nanoha on her back.

Fate had been looking the past ten minutes for a safe place she and Nanoha could hide till she could figure out what to do. She felt a panicked worry for Nanoha's well-being. The brunette had hit her head hard in the car accident and had not woken back up in all this time. As for herself, Fate was at the end of her strength, drained with each step she took, and the loss of blood from the gash of the bullet wound on her arm, (although it appeared to have stopped bleeding a while ago at least). She had already fallen twice, the second time she really didn't want to get back up again. It would have been so easy to just close her eyes and drift off, a release from the throbbing pain in her head, and aching body. But then she would feel the weight of Nanoha upon her back and she knew she had to get up no matter what. This time she wouldn't lose, she would protect someone. She would protect Nanoha with everything she had, even her life if it came to that. She made this a silent pledge to herself.

Up ahead Fate saw a building that she thought they could hide in. It was on a street corner and had a vacant lot beside it on one side and a single story wooden storage building that was partly collapsed, on the other. The building itself was made from brick and stood one floor taller than the other's in the area. There were only a few windows that she could see on each side with the ones on the first floor all boarded up, and most of the glass broken or missing in the rest. If they could get in, then from the upper floor they could watch for anyone who might approach. She started walking towards it shifting Nanoha's weight on her back as she had slipped from her grip.

"Ahhhh... hmmmf." Nanoha began to stir. Fates heart skipped a beat at the sound.

"Nanoha! Nanoha wake up."

"Ugh... F-fate... what hap-pened?" Still not fully awake, Nanoha's speech was blurry, but to Fate, hearing her voice was a comfort. The relief washed over her with such an intensity that her body began to shake and her knees to sag.

"I'm - I'm just so glad... to hear your voice... Nanoha." Fate sniffed and tried to hold back the tears that threatened to fall from her burgundy orbs. _'Where were all these tears coming from today.' _With Nanoha, Fate was finding it hard to control her emotions.

"Mou Fate-chan I'm al-r-right. I just got a bump on my head. Nya -ha...cough, cough." Nanoha tried laughing to assure Fate that she was fine, but it came out weak in the end and died in her throat.

"Etai, etai, etai...," A slight grimace of pain passed over Nanoha's face. "Guess I shouldn't laugh it hurts too much, Nyah..cough. Ugh. Sorry... but I will be fine Fate, really! I only got a bump on my head, same as yours from this morning. I guess that makes us twins?" Nanoha tried to joke but at the word 'twin', Fate jerked and almost lost her balance.

Nanoha continued once she felt she was not going to land on her head again. "It's okay to put me down now Fate-chan."

Fate didn't know why, but she didn't want to let Nanoha go yet. She needed the weight of Nanoha pressing against her back. Nanoha's warmth. She kept moving forward slowly, one foot-dragging in front of the other.

"No, I got... you; I'll pro - tect you. Your not... heav-y, Nanoha, I can... carry you." Fate panted out her words. She was finding it hard to catch her breath she was so near exhaustion from carrying her brunette friend. Sweat stung her eyes, dampened her hair, and dripped off the tip of her nose.

* * *

While Nanoha's head still hurt, her thoughts and awareness to her surroundings were clearing. It was evident by the trembling she could feel in the blonde's body, that Fate was near to collapse. Yet she refused to stop, to put her down. _'Does she somehow feel responsible for what happened to me?_' Nanoha thought. _'Why is she being so selfless. Mou, I wish she would care about herself more.'_

"You know," Nanoha's voice while still weak, resounded with annoyance she felt towards the actions the blonde beneath her was taking. " Fate, I am very capable of protecting myself without your aid. I can feel you shaking with every step. How will you be able to protect me, if that is what you think you _must_ do, if you collapse?"

Fate stumbled as Nanoha's words penetrated her as sharply as if Nanoha had actually stabbed her. The pain was searing. She couldn't collapse and leave Nanoha vulnerable to the people who were after them. She cursed the fact that once again she was too weak. She hated herself for it.

"I'm sorry." Fate slowly eased Nanoha down to the ground, making sure her friend was comfortable with standing on her own before finally dropping her hands to her sides and stepping slightly away, The bangs of her hair that weren't stuck to her skin hung messy across her downcast eyes.

Nanoha sighed as she saw how despondent the taller woman beside her had become from her words. Her voice became softer, trying to soothe the blonde as she thought of all that Fate had gone through for her.

"Thank you Fate-chan, you saved my life."

Fate looked up and into Nanoha's tranquil blue eyes, filled with the hint of tears. She saw the sad smile that graced the girls lips and was confused. A faint blush rose to her cheeks.

"Please don't thank me, it's my fault you got hur..."

Nanoha cut Fate off. She reached out and took Fate's hand. "Don't say that Fate," The words a bit harsh with anger than once again becoming soft with the concern Nanoha was feeling for the blonde.

"You have nothing to feel guilty about. You saved me. You saved me twice! Once from the kidnappers, and then in the accident too. I remember I was out of control, being flung to the front of the car. I am sure I would have gone right through the windshield, there was nothing I could do to stop it. Then your arms wrapped around me and pulled me back to safety. I really felt protected in your arms. So yes I have to say it. Thank you, Fate-chan."

"No, no... Because of me you got involved in something that had nothing to do with you. I never thought that because you were with me this morning that you might be harmed. But that was the problem, I didn't think. I'm sorry Nanoha."

"I don't understand. I don't know what you are talking about Fate-chan. What I do know is that I saw how you saved me Fate. You fought for me. You put your very life on the line for me."

Nanoha reached out with her other hand and cupped Fate's scraped cheek, lifting her face which had fallen back downcast during their conversation and looked deeply into Fate's sad and fear filled crimson eyes. Nanoha was filled with an emotion she didn't understand, but she felt a connection to the blonde that was compelling. She wanted to see Fate smile.

"What ever is going on Fate, you are not responsible for what happened to me, those people are. They are the bad guys, not you. Your my friend and it hurts me to see you blaming yourself like this when you have tried so hard to protect me."

The tears fell down Fate's blood and sweat stained face. She looked down into Nanoha's blue eyes and found tranquility, even in the frightful state they were in, hurt, lost and alone, running for their lives, Nanoha's eyes filled her with warmth. What was this feeling? It was new to her. All she could think to do was to say the one word that was becoming everything to her without her even knowing it yet.

"Nanoha."

The two stood there for a moment tenderly looking into each other's eyes while silent tears fell. A breeze blew through the darkened alley they stood in causing each girl to shiver. The young women became aware again of their surroundings and a feeling of awkwardness overtook them as each stepped back from the other. Nanoha took her hand from Fate's cheek and reached back to scratch the back of her head nervously while she felt heat rise to her face.

"Nyahaha... ouch!" She winced and held her side.

"Nanoha," Hearing her name spoken in that husky voice she looked back up at the tall blonde again and waited for her to continue.

" I have to tell you what I know about what is going on, which isn't a lot but I'm afraid something really terrible is going to happen soon. Somehow we need to get help but I don't know who we can trust. But first we need to find shelter to rest, and to hide. I have walked for almost an hour since the accident, trying to disguise our trail but I think that the people who tried to kidnap you are still out there and they are looking for us."

Nanoha was flabbergasted by what Fate had just told her. The kidnappers were still out there looking for them? Why? There was just no reason anyone could have to want to kidnap her. She was just an average college girl. Her parents ran a successful bakeshop, but the family wasn't rich or influential by any means. '_Wait - did Fate-chan just say she had walked for an hour? Carrying her? _' Now it made even more sense to Nanoha why the poor girl looked dead on her feet.

"Alright Fate, what should we do?" Nanoha would put her trust in the girl.

"Well, I wanted to see if we can get into this building, but we don't want to make it look like anyone has been here so we need to check to see what we can do to get inside sort of sneaky like."

* * *

Arf had caught up with the group of Numbers that were hunting the two human girls. She could see they were having trouble following them. Fate and Nanoha had done a good job obscuring their trail as best they could, zig-zagging, doubling back, covering up. Arf was proud of them. Still the Numbers were not to be deterred. It was slow going but they scoured every corner looking for clues as to which way their prey went. When they ran into a seemingly dead end the four would spread out till one of them would find some evidence of the trail - a spot of blood, a scuff mark in the dirt, and then they would regroup - on the hunt again.

Arf had decided that she had to minimize the threat the Numbers presented before they reached Nanoha and Fate. The two women would most likely be tired and from the faint smell of blood she could detect in the air, injured. Even if they weren't, they were no match for the ruthless enemy that would soon be in front of them. The problem was, these were not the regular parasitic alien invaders taking over host human bodies that the TSAB had encountered before. Arf had managed to acquire images of most of the Alien Invader operatives that were at the car wreck when she arrived. Each woman's photo included a positron emission tomography scan.

She had taken a few minutes to check the data she had collected before sending it all via an inter-stella, space-time dimensional transmission back to TSAB. Arf first looked at one photo that had two women standing beside each other, the red-head she had followed here, and a woman with short spiky hair and a 'IV' on her collar. Arf frowned as she noticed something very different about this image. While both women appeared as regular humans of this planet when you looked at them on the surface, Arf could see from the PET scans that they clearly were not. But, something else was also revealed that came as a big surprise to the Intelligence Specialist. Looking closely at the scan, she noticed the woman on the left, the red-head showed evidence that she was an alien replacement. Looking at the cross-sectional view taken by the PET scan she could see in her lower abdominal region a growth about the size of a child's fist attached to the lumbar area of the spine. Tentacles wrapped around the spine taking over each nerve cluster. The human with the parasitic organism was also identified in the scan by the boost in the host's adrenaline production, which mad the host body stronger than regular humans.

Arf had seen this before on other worlds and in other timelines where the TSAB had fought a losing battle to contain and destroy the parasitic alien invaders. She clenched her fist as she thought of the possibility of another world lost to this plague. She knew the consequences all to well. Three years ago she had lost her own infant son when Zafira's life had been taken over by the parasites. She shook her head. _'I can't afford to think about that right now.'_

Arf looked at the image again, this time focusing in on the woman with the IV symbol on her collar. This woman, and the others that Arf managed to photograph were very unexpected. When looking at her PET scan what she saw was the same parasitic growth in the lower abdominal region, but what was different, something she, nor TSAB had ever met before was the fact that the parasite was not attached to a human body. The PET scan clearly showed that this woman was a cyborg being. She appeared to be mostly machine with some organic parts such as her organs. The brain seemed to be a combination of both mechanical and organic parts. Arf realized she may have gotten the first intelligence breakthrough in some time while combatting the Alien Species.

Up till now TSAB had only been aware of the fact that the Invaders could take over human life forms. How the cyborg came to be, and how the parasitic Invaders can adapt to a cyborg body would be of great interest to HQ. Arf looked at the photos of the other women, they all have a symbol printed on their collars too. Here on Earth these symbols are called Roman numerals. The cyborg Arf had just been examining had the number four, Quattro. Arf felt certain that all the alien cyborgs wore a similar number identifier. The women that she now spied on as they hunted for the blonde and brunette Earth girls, wore Roman numerals on each of their collars. Arf knew that could only mean one thing, they were cyborgs too. These women would be strong; stronger than any human; stronger than a host body jacked up on adrenaline; stronger even then Arf herself, and her species was one of the strongest physically of all the administrated planets. She would wait till they lost the trail again and separated to expand their search, then she would make her move.

* * *

Quattro had to wait before reporting to Dr Scaglietti as the two bodies from the car accident had arrived at the main lab almost at the same time she and Schach walked in the door. As they were entering the end phase of assimilating this planet the doctor had little time to spend in the lab experimenting, the thing he liked best to do. So when he saw the bodies heading into the lab to be operated on, he decided to perform the extraction procedure of the symbiotic organisms from the mangled host bodies himself. He had instructed the two women to remain in the lobby area till he was done.

When the doctor finally stepped back outside his lab, still wearing his bloody surgical gown a demented grin was on his face as he turned to look at Quattro. She could see his deep-set eyes were aglow with a deranged glee. She stood silently waiting as he pulled his surgical gloves off, tossing them into a bin to his left, and stretched like a very contented cat.

"Ahhhhh, that was just what the good doctored ordered," he smirked, "except, I'm the only doctor here and I'm not a _good_ doctor, Bruhahahahaaa." Scaglietti said while laughing, stressing the word good.

"I am pleased for you doctor." Quattro stated flatly.

Scaglietti eyed her for a moment but then his attention was caught by an older female lab assistant who exited the lab with a styrofoam cooler in hand. Scaglietti waved to the assistant who came over to the doctor. He bent over and spoke quietly into the older woman's ear. She nodded in the affirmative, and then turned quickly to head down a corridor. Standing up straight once again, Scaglietti focused his eyes back on the two women who had waited to report to him. He dismissively turned around, heading down the same corridor the lab assistant had just taken. He twitched his index finger for Quattro and Schach to follow him. They proceeded to do just that, walking two steps behind.

Continuing their conversation Scaglietti said, "Yes I am pleased, Quattro. Cutting into flesh just thrills me to no end. Plus I successfully extracted our symbiants from the dead host bodies so we can regenerate them. I suppose nothing has been totally lost. Well, that is except those two Earthling girls." He sneered.

"Doctor about that, I think..." Scaglietti raised and flicked his hand cutting the cyborg off.

"I didn't create you to think my dear. I created you to follow orders, and I distinctly remember telling you to take care of this situation didn't I?"

"Yes Doctor. I thou..." Scaglietti brought his hand up a second time.

"That was a rhetorical question my dear, I already know the result of your careless work. Because of poor planning you and your team were bested by two simple humans. You almost lost us two symbiants, which only through my magnificent skills have been salvaged and are being prepared as we speak for regeneration."

Schach spoke up in her monotone. "Dr Scaglietti, this was my failure. I never saw Testarossa. She caught me off balance and gained access to the car and Takamachi."

Scaglietti fumed. "I blame you both for your incompetence! Now, while I could care less about that Testarossa girl,... hmmf, in fact in my mind the deader the better, we must not let our enemies get ahold of that device brought to this planet by the TSAB investigator we took out. Yet as we speak we have no idea where this device is or Testarossa now for that matter. This is a threat to our plans."

"We understand, doctor." both women said simultaneously and with the same inflection in their voices.

The doctor went on with his lecture. "In addition, I have _personally_ been nurturing Takamachi's mind to help prepare it for a special symbiant who is key to our conquest of this miserable little planet, and to future conquests and you almost kill her. We are this close," Scaglietti held his right thumb and index finger a fraction of an inch apart as he went on with a venomous voice, "to our main invasion of Earth and you screw up like this. I will not tolerate such incompetence a second time. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes."

"Yes, sir."

"Ho ho!" Scaglietti stopped as he walked through the beige colored double doors into a large area that served as the lab's cafeteria. "Well girls we can't solve our problems on an empty stomach now can we, and I for one am famished." He spoke while rubbing his hands together.

He strolled into the room past several tables where people in lab coats like his, (although none were covered with blood and brain matter) were at various stages of taking in nutrients. He walked over to a table at the head of the room, which was already set with three places in anticipation of their arrival.

"Come my lovely ladies, sit and partake of nutrients with me." He waved them to sit at seats across the table from him. A waiter approached the table to pour him a small sample of red wine into his glass. Wine was one of the few things he approved of from this small miserable planet and he had over the month's they had been here preparing the invasion, procured a formidable wine collection. He tested it, sniffing it first then taking a sip which he swished about his mouth before swallowing. After patting his lips with his white cloth napkin, he gave the waiter a nod of approval and three glasses of wine were poured.

Another waiter came to the table pushing a serving cart with three meals on it, each covered by a silver domed lid and a large blackwood pepper mill. He placed each meal in front of the diners, and with a nod from Scaglietti he removed each of the covers on the food. The girls looked down. There on a bed of sautéed native greens, ('_swiss chard'_ Quattro could not stop her logical mind from identifying) was a slice of medium rare cooked symbiant. Both their mouths dropped open as their faces turned gray, for even if they had no emotions of their own, they did have a sense of self-preservation. The hyper-adrenaline in their host bodies caused each girl to perspire.

"Bruhahaha. I did say I was able to save them in time for regeneration did I not?" Scaglietti gleefully spoke as he cut a bite size piece of exceptionally rare symbiant from off his plate, dipped it in some grey poupon mustard, then licking his lips plucked it off his fork and began to chew.

"Mmmmm. My, my this is sooo yummy!" He closed his eyes as he savored the taste. "Hehehe. Cannibalism is just invigorating. I'm feeling regenerated already. Now come, come girls, eat up, especially you Schach. Shall I pass you the grey poupon?"

He lifted a glass of red wine to his smiling lips.

"So, Quattro, why don't you tell me what the rest of the numbers are up to while we enjoy our meal."

* * *

The admiral looked at the two TSAB officers standing in front of her on the teleport.

"I don't need to stress again the urgency of this mission. As you know we detected alien activity on unadministrated planet 97 five months ago. Because of the infrequency of an available space-time fold we had to wait for our chance to send a team in to investigate. The fold through this timeline's dimensional space is unusually narrow which meant we could only send in two agents.

Two months ago our chance came and we sent in Special Investigators Lanster and Arf. We have lost contact with SI Lanster and fear the worst. SI Arf sent us the recent intelligence reports that are disturbing to say the least.

Once you deploy you will be on your own for the next three months which is when the next space-time dimensional fold will occur. Is that understood?"

The two field operatives stood to attention. "Yes sir."

"Fine then. You know your mission." She nodded to the ensign who stood at the controls for the teleport. "We have a unique opportunity here. Be careful, and come back to us." The admiral saluted her task force members as they began to fade out from the teleportation.

* * *

On top of the hill that looked like a mule's ass and overlooked the lights of Uminari City below them, stood the task force from the TSAB's Trans-dimensional warship, Arthra. If they had the time to stop and admire the view, they probably would have thought it beautiful. But they had no time, they were on a mission.

Enforcer Chrono Harlaown was the youngest to ever hold the rank of enforcer, and he was given command. This was his first time on a mission with his team-mate who was older and had more field experience than him, (_'Thank god,' _Chrono thought privately to himself) and so he hardened himself to come across more serious, more mature in front of his command. He stood up straight in his black uniform to the point of almost being stiff neck, his handsome face hardened with the set of his mouth, and the steal in his deep blue eyes. He raised his hand with a device in it, pressing a button that created a projected screen. Chrono turned to his partner to go over orders.

"Master Sargent Granscenic you are tasked with finding the enemy's headquarters and surveillance. Special Investigator Arf planted a tracking device into a bag used by the Earthling Takamachi who we read about before we deployed. This is an image of that bag."

The screen showed a picture of Nanoha's bag taken by Arf at the scene of a vehicle accident. Images of the wreck and the bodies were also included. Finally they looked at the images Arf had also managed to acquire of most of the Alien Invader operatives that were at the wreck at the time she was staking out the scene.

"This is what has HQ all abuzz." Chrono continued. "Each woman's photo included a positron emission tomography scan. From this we were able to determine that the Alien Invaders have developed cyborg technology and can use these bodies as hosts. How the cyborgs came to be, and how the parasitic Invaders can adapt to a cyborg body is of great interest to HQ."

"Enforcer Harlaown," Granscenic began a question. "Why do the cyborgs have that symbol on their collars?"

"HQ believes that it is possible that all of the alien cyborgs wear this identifier. While we do not know for certain at this time, speculation from Intelligence at HQ is that it is their rank designator" Chrono answered in his straight forward manner.

"Sir, I don't understand why the damn aliens don't all use cyborg bodies. I mean man, we have known for some time now that the alien parasite species lives much longer than its human host bodies. It would seem to me that a cyborg that functions for much longer than a human body would make the ideal host. Plus there is the added benefit that the cyborg is much stronger and sturdier then a human. Are they idiots or something?"

Chrono let a small smile briefly crack the stone cold facade of his stern face. VIce Granscenic always acted like he had a chip on his shoulder but Chrono knew better having read his dossier before leaving on the mission. Granscenic hid the pain he felt from the murder of his own Master Sargent that he served under at cadet training school. The commanding officer of his base had been replaced by an alien copy. He had gone on a rampage and killed dozens of soldier and cadets before the Master Sargent ended the alien's killing spree at the cost of his own life. Granscenic had been a troubled youth but his Master Sargent had encouraged him to turn his life around by joining the TSAB forces. Even though Vice Granscenic now had enough field experience to receive a promotion to an officer, he refused any promotion above Master Sargent.

"Good question Master Sargent Granscenic. We do know that to continue their own lives, the alien parasites absorbs all the knowledge and memories of each individual they assimilate. But for some reason they are not able to develop any new knowledge on their own. Which is why they often assimilate a planet in a less technologically advanced time period. Still even with this limitation of theirs, as you know they have infiltrated, assimilated and then redesigned worlds to meet their ever growing needs. They have made some medical breakthroughs as well to extend their host body's life span, and they have created breeding sites where they raise what they call "future stock" that the parasites can transfer to once the current host body is unable to sustain their needs.

Still, with all that they are limited to the degradation of the human host body. So, what does it mean that they now can host a cyborg body? That is one of the things we hope to learn on this mission. Any other questions?"

"No sir, just one comment. Call me Vice. We are going to be on this mission for some time and it is just two damn long to say Master Sargent Granscenic all the time."

A slight smile came over Chrono's stoic face. "Fine then, Vice. If you will call me Chrono."

Vice nodded, "Yes sir! I mean Chrono." The two shared a quiet laugh together before Chrono finished reviewing their orders.

"Vice, follow Arf's tracking device to the Alien Species Headquarters on this planet. Use surveillance to gather information. gather as much as you can on their current operations, the cyborgs, and determine if an alien leader is present. HQ believes that the cyborgs may be operating directly under the alien supreme leader here on this planet. If he is here on Earth, we may have a chance to swing this war to our favor, maybe even end it."

"Got it Chrono."

"In the mean time I will deploy to Arf's last know position and assist her in securing the humans, Testarossa and Takamachi." Chrono showed their images in his display.

"After securing the humans we will proceed to retrieve the device Lanster had with him on his mission. What we know is he went missing after a failed attempt to communicate with Arf. We know his communication was rerouted and ended up being received by the Earthling Testarossa. It is believed she received the co-ordinates as to the device's location. Since then she has been threatened by the Alien Species. Arf believes they intend to try and either assimilate her to acquire her memories of her conversation with Lanster, or to kill her to prevent anyone from learning its location."

"Do you know anything about the device Lanster had with him?" Vice asked this question of Chrono.

"Head Quarters has us on a need to know basis. At this time I only know that it is imperative that it must not fall into enemy hands. We can assume that it holds the same kinds of dangers and power as a Jewel Seed and to proceed with caution."

Vice had another question for Chrono, "Does Arf know the current whereabouts of Testarossa and Takamachi?"

"No. But, she does have a general location and is currently tracking them. In addition she has sensed four hostiles that are also searching for the two human women. We should assume at this time that those hostiles are cyborgs and that Arf and I may have to engage with them to secure Testarossa and Takamachi."

Chrono looked at his team-mate. He saw the hints of wear and tear, the scars that the years of fighting and the personal losses had placed upon his body. He also saw the firm commitment of doing a job well done. The pride as soldier of protecting the innocent. And he saw the brotherhood. They would have each other's back. On that they could depend.

"Once we have obtained our objectives, if there is any remaining time it will be spent investigating the whereabout of Lanster, after all he has a sister and she deserves to know what happened to her brother. I don't want to leave anyone behind. Our goal will be to bring him home, alive or dead. And finally to investigate the possibility that a new mage or Jewel Seed is here on unadministrated planet 97, as reported by Arf. But these will not be our main objectives. There will be another team that will follow when the next space-time dimensional fold opens in approximately three months, whose priorities will be to investigate further if we are not able. The overriding concern is to complete the main mission and get back safely. We will check in every four hours. Now let's go do the job we came here for."

Vice stood at attention and saluted, "Yes sir! Chrono."

* * *

Arf stood on a roof top, her red coat ruffled in a passing cool wind as she looked down on the group of four cyborgs. She bared her teeth for a moment as she thought through her plan. She had changed into her wolf form to give her the greatest speed and strength for her attack. Still, even with claws that were as strong and sharp as a katana, and teeth that could even rip open steel, she would have a hard time winning against four cyborgs.

She had hoped that with nightfall she would have an advantage with her superior night vision. This part of the city was completely abandoned. There were no street lights, or lights from any of the dilapidated buildings around them. There had been one small group of homeless people standing around a rubbish bin they had set on fire to warm themselves, passing a bottle around between them. And twice cars had driven by. The cyborgs had merely stepped back into the shadows so as to not be seen. But the cyborgs must have built-in night vision as they easily walked about the debris in the dark, finding the smallest proof that they were on the right trail.

Arf had continued to track the cyborgs, using the roof tops of the two and three story buildings as a vantage point. She had almost attacked them earlier when they had lost the trail and had to separate, fanning out to find the trail again, but just at that moment Arf had received a communique from an enforcer who had been deployed to the planet. She had conveyed her plan of attack to him which he approved, except that they would execute it together. His ETA was forty-five minutes. Arf had agreed to wait. The two together had an optimum chance of destroying the cyborgs, but she didn't think she really could wait that long. It was clear that Testarossa and Takamachi had tired out by this point. Their trail was becoming easier for the cyborgs to follow. Arf decided that she would attack the next time they separated regardless of whether Enforcer Harlaown had reached her position in time to support her or not. There might not be another opportunity.

* * *

Contentment filled Scaglietti's face having enjoyed his meal and listening to the reports by Quattro and Schah.

"Well, well, well. If there is one way to find a rat, its to use another rat. Or actually a whole swarm of rats! Quattro, send out a call to our brothers and sisters within a one mile radius of where the two humans were last seen and have them converge on the old port district. Tell them to leave no stone unturned, to check every building and every back alleyway. They are in there somewhere."

Scaglietti's smile broadened into a truly evil grin.

"Either the numbers will find them, or our lovely rats! Remember I want Takamachi alive. As for the other one, the rats can gnaw away at her all they want. Hehehehe"

* * *

After doing the best she could with no water to clean Fate's wound on her arm, Nanoha tore the bottom of her shirt off and tied it around the injury. Leaning back she nodded - and instantly regretted it. Her head was pounding and dizziness threatened to overtake her every time she moved her head too quickly. Once the dizziness eased up, she looked at the blonde. Fate was half leaning, half laying against the wall in the corner of a room on the third floor of the building she and Fate had scrambled into. They had decided it was the safest place as it had windows that gave views out to the front and side of the building. The burgundy eyed girl had tried to stay awake, to keep watch, but Nanoha had insisted she close her eyes, even just for a bit.

"But I have to explain to you what I know about what is going on." Fate's voice came out as a whisper, her words almost slurred.

"Shhh, shhh. It's alright Fate-Chan. Rest first. You need it to clear your mind. You can tell me everything after you sleep for a bit."

"But..."

"No buts, you need to rest first. I'll keep watch. Now close your eyes. That's a good girl." Nanoha watched as Fate's eyes began to close despite herself. "Shhhh. Its okay, go to sleep." Nanoha almost hummed the words to Fate lulling the blonde whose body began to relax.

Fate's exhaustion won out and she soon settled into a fitful sleep. Nanoha took a few minutes to look out through the broken panes of the windows making sure no one was in the streets looking for them. Once she was satisfied she walked back over to sit next to Fate. She choose an angle that still gave her a view out of one window but also allowed her to watch Fate's sleeping face. Even in their precarious situation Nanoha could not help smiling to herself. She had started the day by watching over an unconscious Fate. She remembered how taken she was with Fate's beauty at that time, even with that bump on her head. Nanoha reflectively reached her hand up to her own forehead where a similar bump, somewhat bigger now resided. A sharp pain penetrated her head when she lightly touched it. _'Etai, ouch! I won't do that again,' _she winced.

Nanoha had sat near to Fate watching out the nearest window for a short while when she noticed Fate was shaking. Looking closely she noted how pasty Fate's skin had become, long strands of her hair stuck to her face and neck. She placed the back of her hand gently to the blonde's forehead. It was somewhat hot. _'This is not good,'_ thought Nanoha, _'she's running a slight fever, probably because of her wound and exhaustion.' _It had been a cool spring day, but any warmth the sun created soon left after it set. That was more then two hours ago. They had a long night ahead of them. Nanoha took her jacket off, and after carefully pulling Fate close to her in a hug, making sure not to press on her injuries, she leaned Fate's head upon her own shoulder, and used the jacket as a blanket to wrap around the two of them. Sitting like that, their warmth pressed together, Nanoha felt her eyes droop closed. _'Only for a minute.'_ She thought.

She felt disoriented. Had she fallen asleep? How much time had passed? She felt the fitful movements of the girl resting against her. Nanoha heard Fate mumble words she couldn't understand. She thought she heard a foreign name. Was it Alice? She briefly wondered who this Alice was to Fate. She didn't like that this girl had invaded Fate's dreams. _'Wait, why am I feeling so irritated by this? Am I j-jealous?' _By her whimpers Nanoha could tell Fate was in the throws of a nightmare. Once again she cooed the blonde, like a mother would a child, stroking her hair gently, humming quietly a lullaby. Fate finally settled down again moving onto Nanoha's lap, placing her uninjured arm around the brunette's waist. Nanoha couldn't help but smile at the sight. She bent over Fate and tenderly pulled back her long blonde hair to kiss her temple.

Nanoha felt her heart beat quicken. She carefully sat up and looked out the window, feeling confused. Why was she getting these strange feelings towards Fate? She had only known the girl for a day, yet she was feeling drawn to the blonde. But what kind of feelings were these anyway? Somehow it felt like the way she cared about her family but it was different too. The way she was feeling about Fate right now, she didn't want to ever let the girl go. But isn't that how she was suppose to feel for a boyfriend? Fate was a girl. She was a girl! How could this be. This feeling she had that was dancing in the pit of her stomach, it couldn't be love. Not that kind anyway. Still Nanoha was mesmerized each time she looked into the depth of Fate's burgundy eyes. What she saw there was that Fate was strong, but weak; she was cool and detached, yet vulnerable too. Fate's eyes showed how caring for others she was, but not for herself so much. She was a beautiful container full of contradictions. There was a sadness behind her crimson eyes. She stirred something that had lain dormant in Nanoha's heart.

Nanoha leaned her head against the wall behind her and closing her eyes she sighed. _'I don't know what these feelings are, or if they are even real. What I do know is that Fate cares about me, and she needs me. Me too. I feel the same way too, about her. Maybe these feelings are because of all that has happened. Everything has been so fast I can't think it all through. For now though, I will believe in her and I will accept that she has become special to me.' _

Nanoha bent over the sleeping girl again and placed her lips next to Fate's ear affectionately whispering into it.

"I won't leave you Fate-chan."

Just then a light came in through the window and swept across the room, casting strange shadows against the walls as it passed by. Nanoha was surprised by it, she tightened slightly her hold on Fate. She could hear now the sound of a passing car. She held her breath and listened as the car moved off down the road till she could no longer hear it. That was the first sign of people she had seen in this dismal place since she woke up on Fate's back. Nanoha thought it best if she checked each window again to make sure there were no people about. It took her a moment but she slowly shifted herself out from under Fate without waking the girl, laying her down on the floor, making sure the coat covered her. Nanoha crept up to the window facing the front of the building avoiding the broken glass scattered on the floor. She was about to look outside when a second car came down the road, its lights passing through the room. Nanoha ducked her head, pressing herself to the wall. This time she heard the car stop almost right in front of the building they were in. The engine quit and four doors opened and shut. Nanoha heard the drone of voices, each sounding almost the same. She couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman speaking, and she was too afraid to look out and see.

"We must check each building on this block. You three check the ones on that side, we two will check the buildings over here."

"Alright."

"Remember, if you find them and the blonde struggles kill her..."

Nanoha's eyes opened wide as she gasped, bringing her hand up quickly to cover her mouth. _'No, no, no, no! What did they mean kill the blonde. Why is this happening?' _Nanoha wanted to scream her heart was so full of fear for Fate's life.

"...but the brunette is to be taken alive. Dr. Scaglietti wants her."

Nanoha was frozen stiff in shock. Dr Scaglietti? Her math professor? She had to clasp both hands over her mouth to keep from laughing hysterically out loud.

'_WHAT THE F...!'_

* * *

A/N:

So this was a hard chapter to write. Actually I am late posting because I had written a completely different version then decided it was all wrong.

I have the next first sentence already selected by a friend, and since I expect to write an action scene for Arf, (something I am very nervous about writing) I thought I would share with you that sentence. If you have any suggestions on how I might start with these 4 words I would love to hear your ideas.

**Seeing comes before words.** -John Berger, Ways of Seeing.

Thank you again for all who have reviewed, PM me, or just stopped by to read Touch The Earth.


	8. 8: Running Just As Fast As I Can

A/N:

**Bold** = random first sentence from a published book, this time selected from one that was on my night stand.

'_Italic'_ = thoughts

"normal" - dialog

normal = narrative

This week's sentence is from **John Berger**'s book: **Ways Of Seeing**

Thanks to all who have written a review. You encourage me to continue. If you have ideas or suggestions I am always looking to improve.

Disclaimer - I do not hold any rights or ownership of MGLN

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::

**~~~Touch The Earth, Chapter 8 ~~~**

**Running Just As fast As I Can**

* * *

**Seeing comes before words. **Nanoha understood this all to well.

_Looking back to when it all began..._

When Nanoha was little she discovered that there was always a gap between seeing and words. Words gave her the knowledge to understand the world she lived in, while seeing gave her place in that world. Each evening she could see the sun setting, even while she knew through the words her teacher had spoken in her first grade science class that it was the Earth turning away from the sun. As a young child she realized that the explanation didn't quite fit the sight.

That was when Nanoha began to see that there were more ways to how the world worked then words could describe. And it was from that moment, at that tender age, that she began to seek out what was in between the differences of sight and words, of present, past and future, of perception and reality.

One day when Nanoha was in the second grade she was alone in her classroom finishing up her cleaning duties. As she turned from the white board she had just erased she noticed her teacher had left his computer on. Looking at the screen, she was mesmerized. Without stopping to think what she was doing, she picked up a pencil on his desk and started to scribble down an answer. It took her a few minutes, her little brows furrowing together as she was deep in thought, occasionally she would stop and pull on one of her twin tails she wore her hair in, but once done she placed the pencil down, looked satisfied at her answer and smiled. Nanoha skipped to her desk, grabbed her book bag and headed home.

Coming back from a long winded and boring faculty meeting, Nanoha's second grade teacher walked over to his desk wishing he did not have papers still to correct. Just as he was sitting down he angrily noticed that someone had written on the papers he had left out on his desk. He froze when he noticed what they had written. Now shock, surprise and excitement competed to dominate his expression.

Looking up from the mathematical equation scrawled in little kid handwriting in the margins of the papers in front of him, to the website displayed on the monitor he realized that what was before him was the answer to the Loop Quantum Gravity math question posted on the MIT website. It was not long after that, with the publication of her proof of conjecture, (something Nanoha couldn't even pronounce properly as a seven year old) and a review by MIT faculty that it was determined that she was extremely gifted in mathematics. Although, her average performance in other subject areas convinced her parents not to move her up grades as the school had advised, but to keep her instead with her friends and classmates, opting for special advance tutoring in math.

Nanoha's tutor turned out to be none other than the head of Uminari University's math department, Dr. Jail Scaglietti. She never knew how exactly to think about her tutor. She appreciated his attention, and how he nurtured her interests, especially showing real enthusiasm for her ideas in more theoretical areas such as chaos theory, multi-verse time shifts and worm holes, but truth be told the man always made the little girl nervous. He would hover over her, rubbing his hands together while quietly laughing under his breath as he watched her solving problems. Sometimes there would be a look in his eyes that Nanoha would catch - and it would send a chill down her spine. Still, he never acted anything more than kind towards her, he was always encouraging, and it was clear that his desire for her to grow and learn was genuine.

* * *

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::

"Fate, Fate-chan wake up" Nanoha urgently whispered in Fate's ear as she gently tried to shake the girl awake. The only emotion that was superseding her growing anger from feeling betrayed and lied to by her teacher and mentor for so many years of her life, was her concern and fear for the safety of the blonde woman she had only known for a day and who was presently passed out from exhaustion on the floor in front of her.

"Come on Fate wake up, we're in trouble."

A groggy moan escaped Fate's lips as she tried hard to open her crimson eyes. It was like she was surrounded by a dense fog that was penetrating her very being. She was falling down a well, the circle of light getting smaller and further away till she was once again engulfed in the solitude of darkness.

Nanoha leaned back looking at Fate. She noted the beads of sweat on her forehead. She wiped Fate's sweat away with the sleeve of her shirt and then leaning over the blonde, Nanoha pressed her forehead against Fate's. Her fever had risen. Worry showed in Nanoha's face as she furrowed her brows in thought. Nanoha realized that the blonde medical student was too exhausted and weak from her injuries and her fever to wake up yet. This was bad. It would not be long before the people who were looking for them would check out the building they were hiding in. How was she going to protect Fate. Nanoha reached out and gently brushed a few stray bangs from the blonde's face. She let her hand drop down to cover Fate's hand that rested on her abdomen. Nanoha made a decision.

* * *

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::

Arf, still in her wolf form, decided to make her move. It was ten minutes before her support would arrive but the cyborgs had just split up after losing the trail of Fate and Nanoha yet again. From the oder of blood and sweat, Arf knew the two young women were not too far away. This could be her last and best chance.

From her rooftop vantage point, Arf zeroed in on one of the cyborg women who was moving down a narrow alleyway looking for signs that their prey had entered one of the backdoors to the buildings that lined the alley. Arf calculated in her mind that she would have four minutes to attack. She had estimated that was the amount of time the other cyborgs would need to reconvene and come to this cyborg's aid. She had to eliminate the one she planned to attack and escape within the time limit she had given herself if she was to survive.

She came at the cyborg from above in a surprise move, using her muscular hind wolf legs to leap full force from the roof top she was on. Her goal had been to crush the woman's jugular in her jaws but at the last moment the cyborg with a number VII on her collar leaned to the right and Arf had missed her mark.

Instead, Arf's jaw closed down with crushing force on Sette's left shoulder. She felt her teeth sink in through flesh and cut tendons both human and machine.

Sette stumbled towards her left off balance colliding her and Arf into a wall. The force caused Arf to slightly loosen her steel like grip on the cyborg's shoulder.

Quickly Sette reached up with her right hand grabbing the red wolf by the scruff of the back of her neck and tossed the wolf over her shoulder. Arf was thrown hard into a brick wall. She slid down and shook her head to clear it.

Three minutes left.

Now Arf had three minutes left to defeat the cyborg before the others came to her aid. As she stood she transformed back to her human form. Rapidly she propelled herself forward swinging her right fist at the left side of the cyborg's face.

The cyborg was surprised by Arf's transformation and was slow to counter her attack, raising her left arm to defend herself Arf's punch into her arm and shoulder ignited a fire storm all down Sette's left side. She stumbled back.

Arf pressed her advantage with a roundhouse kick toward's her opponent's stomach but at the last moment the cyborg managed to swivel right and defend with her uninjured right arm. She stopped Arf's foot, grabbing it with her right hand as she countered and swung her right leg out in a kick toward's Arf's left knee.

Two minutes left.

Arf saw into the attack and used her leg's great strength to jump up and swivel over the head of her enemy, bringing her left foot rapidly back down against the right arm of Number VII. The cyborg grunted as she let go of Arf's leg and dropped to one knee.

Arf, now standing behind the cyborg didn't slow down, starting to shift back to her wolf form as she prepared to lunge at her enemy's neck. But the transformation was never completed. The cyborg surprised Arf as she pushed herself up off the ground with her powerful legs and flipped over Arf's head, reaching down to grab her by the neck preventing Arf from turning into her wolf form.

Arf jerked backwards off her feet. The two tumbled down to the ground grunting and groaning. Arf ended up on her back with the cyborg straddling her. Sette's right forearm pressed into Arf's neck choking her while the cyborg's legs - as vice like as Arf's wolf jaws, squeezed her sides in a crushing display of power. Arf could not breathe.

One minute left.

Sette's blank face never registered that she thought victory was at hand as she strangled the life out of Arf. But that is what she thought.

Nor, did the cyborg's face express surprise as she looked down into the feral grin that grew on Arf's face. But she wondered why the dog woman would grin like that when she was about to die.

She never realized that she had maneuvered their positions to Arf's advantage. Arf pushed against the arm choking her in a powerful thrust as she finally managed to transform. Her wolf jaws clamped down on Sette's neck snapping it, the red of blood camouflaged by Arf's red fur.

Arf rolled out from under the body of the cyborg growling and spitting out blood that had gotten into her mouth. She felt a moment of disgust with herself for the kill, but the special investigator quickly let that go. This was a battlefield.

Flames shot along her side where she was sure a rib was broken as she pulled herself up to stand on all four. She looked up to the entrance of the Alley and growled again. Coming at her were the other three cyborgs.

Zero minutes left.

* * *

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Nanoha had made it to the falling down wooden structure that was attached to the backside of the building she and Fate had been hiding in. She pushed aside a loose board crawling out to the alley way in the back. She was careful to put the board back into place. There was no one in sight but she could hear distant voices from the direction of the main road. The voices were getting closer. Sweat beaded on Nanoha's forehead; her heart was beating so loud it almost drowned out all other sounds for her. She waited.

She allowed herself one moment to think of Fate. A small smile came to her face as she pictured burgundy eyes. Nanoha wondered what those eyes looked like when the blonde woman really laughed with joy. _'I want to see that.'_

'_Be safe Fate-chan.' _Nanoha thought. _'And if I don't make it back, come find me please.'_

A sound brought Nanoha back to the reality of her situation. She looked up at the entrance of the alleyway towards the main street. She could hear the footsteps of approaching people.

"... check the tall building on the corner." a male's voice.

"Yeah, its the last one on this side for us to check." a female's voice

"I'll go down the back alley, you guys check the front and far side. Give a shout if you find anything." another male voice.

Nanoha saw a metal rubbish bin next to a door for the building opposite the one she had come out of. It was reckless of her, but she had to make sure that all the ones looking for them headed to the alleyway. She kicked the bin, knocking it over with a rattle as its lid rolled a short distance down the broken pavement before it teetered and fell over.

"Hurry, in the alley. I heard a sound."

The three ran to the head of the alley and looked down it. In the dim light cast by their flashlights they could see a woman running away from them.

"That must be her, the Takamachi girl. Let's go."

"I'll call the others. We can have them head her off with the car." The woman pulled her cellphone out as she ran sightly behind her companions down the alley. She called the other two who were with them but had been checking buildings on the other side of the main street they had parked their car on.

"Yes"

"We found the Takamachi girl. We are chasing her down the back alley by the tall building on the corner. Get the car and head her off. You can follow the GPS on my phone."

"Alright. What about the other one, Testarossa?"

"She must be in the area. Call in another group to continue the search where we left off. Our priority is the Takamachi girl for now. Hurry." the woman huffed out as she ran.

"Got it, will do."

Nanoha could hear the three sets of running feet behind her. Just before she headed out of the far end of the alleyway she heard a car start. A faint smile graced her lips before she put her head down, took a sharp right as she exited the alley and put the speed on. Nanoha was a runner. And she was fast. She felt confident she could lose them if she could pull ahead enough to zigzag through the buildings. She saw another street entering on the left. She crossed the road and headed down it. The running footsteps were still behind her but she was pulling ahead.

Nanoha turned right again at the first chance she had. She saw another alleyway on her right again and sprinted for it, grabbing the pole of the street sign to swing her down the alley without having to slow down. She was two-thirds the way down it when she heard a thump and a curse as one of her pursuers fell at the entrance of the alley. She picked up speed and headed for the end of the alleyway when she saw that there was a very narrow alley - really a crawl space - on her left. She headed into it.

The space between the buildings was tight. Very tight. If Nanoha wasn't so petite she might not have fit. Still, even she had to turn sideways and sashay as quickly as she could. She grimaced as she scraped her knees against brick. She was nearing the end as her pursuers found the entrance, shouting and cursing. The space was too narrow for the man, he would have to go around. Nanoha turned left and began to run down the street she was on.

After only a few steps, Nanoha stopped and turned back to the narrow alley, she used this time to catch her breath and wipe at sweat running down the side of her face as she listened to hear if the woman had followed her. She knew that they saw her turn to run down the street and she hoped they both felt it best to do the same. She heard no sounds so she slowly poked her head around the corner. The alley was empty. This was her chance.

Nanoha ran quickly up the street in the opposite direction she had originally turned. _'Fate-chan we are going to get out of here so hang on just a bit more,' _Nanoha thought, as she ran out of the street she was on and into the crossroad. She was feeling a bit triumphant at having lured the people searching for them away from Fate and for having outsmart them in her escape too. She looked to her left to see the first faint light of the morning painting the sky. Once again she allowed herself to smile before she turned to her right.

Headlights came on catching Nanoha in their beam, just like the proverbial deer. She put a defensive arm up over her eyes for a moment as her smile was replaced with a look of shock. She vaguely saw someone standing beside the car raise their arm. Before she knew what had happened she felt a sting in her left shoulder. She looked down to see a dart. "Wha..." Nanoha collapsed like a sack of coal.

The two from the car were standing over the unconscious brunette as the other three who had been chasing her finally caught up all out of breath.

"Let's get her into the car and take her back to the laboratory." They picked up Nanoha's limp body and carried her to the trunk of the car. One of the men reached in at the driver seat and pulled a lever that popped the trunk open. Without much care, they tossed Nanoha inside the trunk.

"What about Testarossa?"

"Don't worry about her, when I called in to tell them we had Takamachi they told me that they had sent three groups over to the area where we first saw this one. They'll hunt her down and that will be that."

They got in to the green sedan and drove away, heading back towards the university district in the city.

* * *

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"Ummph" Arf let out a gasp as the wind was knocked out of her.

She had transformed back to her human form so she could pull out her gun but the cyborgs were too fast. A red haired one on roller blades was on her before she could aim and fire, grabbing her arm and twisting it before pummeling her in the gut.

There was a snap and the gun fell from Arf's hand, her wrist broken. Still Arf wasn't out of this fight. She brought her left arm around fast and power punched the cyborg holding on to her hard in the temple. The cyborg let go of Arf and staggered to her left. Arf reached down for her gun but she was met in the face with a boot. She went tumbling back onto the ground.

The other two cyborgs stood between her and escape while the one she had hit was down on one knee shaking her head, trying to clear it.

"Now you die, bureau dog." The shortest cyborg with long white hair and an eye patch over her right eye said. She pulled two knives out from under her long jacket.

Arf couldn't help but smirk. The cyborg's expressionless face and voice were in conflict with the words she had spoken. "If you're gonna threaten someone," Arf growled as she began to arch her back, "say it like you mean it!" she barked at them.

Arf kicked her legs out in a swing move catching the eye patched cyborg at the knee. She pressed through causing the cyborg to lose her balance falling onto her side as her legs came out from under her.

Arf finished her move with a backwards somersault. Her feet landed squarely on the wall behind her. She put all her energy into launching herself off the wall and at the red headed cyborg who had just gotten back up onto her roller blades. As Arf propelled herself forward she jutted out her left elbow thrusting it into the young cyborg's throat. The redhead gagged as she fell backwards, reaching to clutch her throat. Blood foaming at her lips.

Suddenly Arf felt a bone jarring impact across her back. The next thing she knew she was lying prone on her stomach, struggling to catch her breath. Blackness crept near the edges of her vision. The taste of copper in her mouth. She had bitten her tongue hard. The sounds of the fallen cyborg lying near her and drowning in her own blood, the thrashing sounds as the number IX cyborg's body jerked in spasms started to fade from Arf's ears. Arf was on the edge of consciousness.

She shook her head bringing back some of her senses.

"She did mean it." Said the tallest cyborg in her monotone, the number III on her collar. Arf heard the sound of a short sword being drawn above her, but was still too stunned from the blow she had received to move. The violet haired cyborg stood over Arf with her short sword raised over her head; the point of the sword aimed for the center of Arf's back.

Arf saw her gun laying on the ground just in front of her. She reached forward with her bad arm but a foot came down hard upon her broken wrist. Pain shot up her arm like a stampede of horses momentarily taking over her senses. The cyborg with the eye patch had gotten up again, picking up one of her knives, and now stood with one booted foot on Arf's wrist. Arf withered in pain.

"And now you really do die, bureau dog." The eye patched cyborg repeated herself in that same flat voice. She reached down with her knife preparing to slash Arf's throat as Tre began to thrust her sword down to impale the Special Investigator.

There was a small electronic whining sound followed by a crackling noise as a burst of plasma energy struck Tre in the shoulder, spinning her away from Arf. Chrono had just arrived on the scene. When Arf had informed him she was going in, he hurried his pace cutting the time it took to reach her by just one minute. He quickly loaded another cartridge and aimed at the smaller of the two cyborg's attacking Arf, but she had already rounded on him, perceiving him as the greater threat.

Quickly cutting the distance between them in half the eye patched cyborg with the number V on her collar pivoted as Chrono fired again. She felt the heat of the plasma bullet as it passed by her just missing. As Chrono was loading a third cartridge she attacked him, thrusting her knife forward. Chrono brought his weapon down to block the knife. Cinque countered with a powerful hook punch into his stomach.

"oof." The strength of the punch pushed Chrono back several steps as he slightly bent over.

Suddenly his head was thrown back due to an upper cut to his jaw. Chrono felt his teeth rattle in his head as he staggered backwards struggling to stay on his feet. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a flash as the small cyborg once again thrust her knife at Chrono, aiming for his heart.

In a swift move Chrono dropped his weapon and grabbed the cyborg's arm that held the knife. He turned his body to the side as he pushed her arm down to hip level. With a fluid motion he brought his other arm around and chopped down on the hand holding the knife.

The cyborg grunted as she dropped her weapon, a sharp pain moving up her arm and pulling at her shoulder as tendons tore. Her body fell forward. Chrono maintained his hold on her arm as he grabbed her face, swiveling his whole body into shoving her down. She landed on her back, her arm twisted above her head. Chrono kneeled on her stomach pinning her down as he pulled out his own knife strapped to his leg. He didn't stop to think, to do so would make him hesitate, something neither he nor Arf could afford in this fight. He drove the knife deep into the cyborg's chest.

Arf scuttled forward to retrieve her gun as she heard a noise to her left. As she grabbed her pistol, grimacing she forced her hand to grip it despite her broken wrist and rolled onto her side. Rushing at her with the short sword aimed at striking her through was the violet haired cyborg, blood splattered across her clothes from the wound in her shoulder. Arf swung her arm around aiming her pistol at the cyborg, firing. Tre staggered but continued forward like a drunk, one intent to kill the bureau dog.

Another whine and crackle was heard from behind Arf, and a plasma blast from Chrono's rifle struck Tre in a gruesome shot to the face, bringing her down for good. Everything went suddenly quiet. They had taken out all four cyborgs.

Arf got to her knees, leaned over and threw up as the effects of the battle weighted on her body and mind. The first light of the new day touched down upon the scene of violence and death that surrounded her.

Chrono ran over to Arf supporting the wolf woman as she slowly stood up.

"Are you all right?" Chrono asked, concern edged his voice which was still a little ragged as he worked to catch his breath from the fighting.

"Yeah, I'm still functional although I have some injuries that need treatment."

"Got it." Chrono shrugged off his pack, set it down on the ground in front of him and opened up a side pocket. He pulled out a red and white case that fit in the palm of his hand. Opening it there was a small field medical device. There were also some bandages and medicine.

"Alright Special Agent Arf, let's check what injuries you have and see what we can mend for you. Oh, and by the way I am Enforcer Chrono Harlaown, you can call me Chrono."

"First is my right wrist. I'm pretty sure it is broken." Arf held out her wrist for Chrono to inspect. "And by the way, thanks for the assist Chrono, I'm Arf."

"No problem." Chrono replied in his stoic manner as he brought the medscanner over Arf's wrist, concentrating on its readout. "Hmm, it's broke all right. Looks like a clean break though so I think we can fix it, at least enough to keep you operational."

"Good. We need to hurry. The two Earth women, Fate Testarossa and Nanoha Takamachi i know are close by, but something doesn't smell right. Plus, there are others looking for them and they're getting close."

"More cyborgs?" Chrono did not look up as he asked Arf this question, he was focused on using the fusion setting of the medscanner to stitch Arf's bones back together.

"grrrrrrr"

"Sorry, it will hurt a little but I'm almost done. Just try to keep your wrist still."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Arf snarled. "And no, I think we have cleared out all the cyborgs, in this location anyway. It must be regular alien clones I'm detecting, but it feels like a lot of them so it may be just as tough to get us all out of here intact."

"Roger that. Okay Arf, how is that? Clench your fist a few times and bend your wrist."

Arf did as instructed. "Not bad, you make a good field medic for an enforcer."

"Comes with the job. Any place else Arf that needs treatment?"

* * *

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::

Arf and Chrono made up for lost time spent healing her. Now back in her wolf form, Arf was using all her senses to find Fate and Nanoha. Twice they had to go around the enemy who were canvasing the buildings in the area.

"This is it, they are in here... or at least one of them is." Arf said.

They stood beside a tall three story building. Walking around to the side they found some loose boards over a window they successfully pried off. Slowly they made their way into the structure and carefully checked each room to make sure they were clear.

* * *

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::

Vice had established a position in an empty office on the fifth floor facing the building he had traced the Takamachi woman's bag back to. While setting up his surveillance equipment he watched a green sedan turn into the parking garage under the building.

In a subterranean laboratory Jail Scaglietti waited for his protegé with a look on his face that could rival that of a cat's wiping mice off its whiskers.

* * *

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::

**A/N: **Eck that was dreadful to write - and it came out that way too. I have never written fight scenes so had no idea what I am doing.

Speaking of which - next chapter we will finally find out what the device is in the locker at the bus station... remember that all the way back in chapter 1? I am looking forward to finding out myself because I have no idea what it is either... HELP! I just hope I get a decent starting sentence.

Finally, I wasn't sure how much violence a T rating could tolerate so I decided to go to M for the story rating. I still toned back what I had originally written. Didn't know I could be so blood thirsty.

Thank you for all who have reviewed. I am almost to my target goal of 50 reviews! Yippee! Also thanks to those who have favored or are following my story. Nice to know people are waiting to read it. I do hope it's not disappointing. Let me know if you feel there are problems with it. (with a little kindness)


	9. 9: Where Are You, Nanoha?

**A/N**

Bold 1st sentence from randomly selected book:

**"Later on he will understand how some men so loved her, that they did dare much for her sake."**

_Dracula_, Bram Stoker

_Italic = Fate's dream_

_'Italic' = thoughts_

**{*MGLN*MGLN*MGLN* }**

* * *

Chapter Nine: Where Are You, Nanoha?

**Two days later...**

"**Later on she will understand how a woman so loved her, that she did dare much for her sake". **Arf spoke quietly to Chrono as she looked over her shoulder at the sleeping Nanoha, lying in a hospital bed in Uminari City Hospital. It had been two days in which they all had gone to hell and back, many times not sure they would make it. They hadn't had time yet to clean up. The two were covered in filth, clothing torn, scratches and bruises covered their bodies, their faces sweat and tear stained.

Chrono also looked to the sleeping brunette slowly, nodding his head in affirmation to what Arf had just said. The two stood just inside the door to Nanoha's white hospital room, a monitor indicated her heartbeat was strong and steady. Her father stood by her bed while her mother sat in a chair next to him, holding her youngest daughter's hand. A brother and sister hovered on the other side of the bed waiting to see eyes the color of the sky open.

"It won't be easy for her, but she is strong, and she has her family."

Nanoha had not awoken since she was admitted into Uminari hospital earlier that evening. Not long after her parents and siblings arrived, worry and relief simultaneously showing on their faces. It had been almost three full days since they last heard from their youngest who till then had always been in touch with her parents daily, and regularly helped out at their bakery the Midori-ya. Her disappearance was not like her at all, and so her family had been panicking, fearing something bad had befallen Nanoha.

Dr Shamal had told the Takamachi's that Nanoha's physical injuries were non life threatening, she had suffered a concussion a few days ago, her ribs on her left side were bruised and she had a sprained left ankle. Minor contusions were on her skin. What kept her unconscious was exhaustion and the phycological stress placed on her brain by her kidnapping experience.

"She will sleep probably for another 24 to 48 hours but we feel she will suffer no lasting physical damage. It is highly probable that she will have PTSD, post traumatic stress disorder, from what ever happened to her with the kidnapping. I have made arrangements for Nanoha to talk with our phycologist when she awakens. He will then make recommendations for treating her PTSD."

"What happened Dr. Shamal?" Shiro spoke in a haggard voice, it had been days since he had slept, his clothes were unkempt and stubble covered his chin.

"I do not know Takamachi-san, these people rescued her and may be able to shed some light on her situ..." Shamal had turned to indicate Chrono and Arf who had been standing by the door to the room, but when everyone looked in the direction Dr. Shamal had pointed, they were gone.

"What? Where did they go?" asked Shiro, he moved to the door, opened it and looked up and down the hallway. The black haired man and red headed woman were no where to be seen.

In the commotion no one standing around Nanoha's bed heard the unconscious woman mumble one word;

"Fate..."

**{*MGLN*MGLN*MGLN* }**

* * *

**Two days earlier...**

Arf and Chrono had found Fate feverish and in a fitful sleep state. After inspecting her injuries, Chrono got the medscanner out of his field medical kit again and went to work on healing Fate's wounds. Morning light seeped into the dilapidated room through the broken window Arf stood watch at. After he did all he could for the young Earth woman, Chrono went to stand by Arf.

"She all set?" Arf asked Chrono.

"Yeah, I healed most of her injuries. We just have to wait for her to wake up. I don't think it will be too long now."

"Good. We haven't a minute to lose. Look." Arf pointed out the window.

Chrono turned to follow with his deep blue eyes the direction Arf pointed in. He could see a small group of men and women moving about at the far end of the street. They broke off in twos and threes to go into the buildings lining the road, and to head off down side alleys. It was obvious they were looking for them.

"They'll be here in about fifteen minutes I think. We have to move before then."

* * *

_It had been a long time since the blonde had not felt all alone._

"_Alicia, Mother, I miss you..." She saw them for a flicker of a heartbeat, but when she reached out to touch them her fingers passed through them and they merely drifted away like a puff of smoke. _

_A deep sorrow began to overwhelm her on the day she lost the two people most precious to her. The feeling of sadness was too much, she did not know how she could survive this loneliness. Somewhere at her very core a survival instinct was sparked. This grief, if met again - would kill her, and so deep in the recesses of her mind a key turned - it locked her heart up. _

_After that she felt a numbness embrace her as the years went by. She was caring on the outside. She wanted to help others, true, but she never wanted to get close to them. She never let anyone into her life. Not really. Even her landlady's granddaughter, little Jasmine_ _and her dog Sora could not touch her heart. She liked the little girl, was even fond of her, but felt no greater attachment then that. The core of her heart had turned into something hard and impenetrable. She smiled her crooked smile that never reached her burgundy eyes. She had thought it best to live the rest of her life this way. To open her heart would invite pain back in and she could not afford that._

_But now she found herself thinking of a certain brunette with a lopsided ponytail. She hardly knew Nanoha but found looking into her cerulean blue eyes to be captivating. Each smile directed her way seemed like a spring thawing for her soul. She was starting to feel the ice crack. She felt scared and conflicted. She pictured all of Nanoha's cute expressions she had learned in just one day - her pout, her laughing face, her intellectual look, her angry frown, her surprised look, her caring eyes, her smiling mouth, her reddening cheeks. _

'_So Cute,' She thought. A strange warm feeling resonated in her body._

_Then the air around her began to turn foul and the light dimmed making it hard for her to see. Her eyes darted about looking for the girl she had just been picturing in her mind. _

'_There ... over there, I see her now. She's turning to look at me.' _

_What she saw were tear stained cheeks, pale clammy skin, lips drawn back in pain, fear filled blue eyes..._

* * *

"Nanoha!" Fate gasped her name as she shot bolt upright.

For a moment she did not comprehend where she was or what was going on around her. She just felt an overwhelming need to see Nanoha, to hear her voice, to be assured that she was by her side, and safe. Fate looked around as her eyes came back into focus. Nanoha was nowhere to be found. In her place stood Arf with an unknown man.

"Where's Nanoha?" Fate asked, concern in her voice.

"She is not here Fate." Arf had turned to face the girl whose face was beginning to show panic. "We found you by yourself, unconscious and feverish."

"I - I don't understand. Where is Nanoha then?"

"There is no sign of any struggle," Chrono answered Fate's question matter-of-factly. "Based on this evidence, she must have left of her own free will."

"No, no, no! You're wrong! Nanoha wouldn't do that, I just know it. At least not unless she had to." Fate's voice rose in anger at the dark haired man who she felt had slighted her friend.

"I'm sorry, I did not mean to upset you or insinuate that your friend had done anything wrong. Let me introduce myself. My name is Chrono Harlaown and I work with Arf as an enforcer, kind of like a police officer here on Earth. Arf has told me about you and Nanoha. From what I understand, I am sure what ever the reason Nanoha is not here, she had your best interest in mind. " Chrono responded sincerely calming Fate down.

"That's right. Nanoha and I had been trying so hard to evade those people... things... ahhhh! I don't know what to call them, but they were hunting us down and we stayed ahead of them for as long as we could, but I wasn't able to go on anymore." Fate grabbed her hair with both hands and pulled on it in frustration as she shook her head. Sadness and guilt filled her burgundy eyes. She continued,

"It's my fault, I was too weak, and now Nanoha is gone." Fate looked up at Arf and Chrono with tears about to spill from her eyes. "What could have happened to her?"

Arf didn't look away from Fate. She knew the girl had to get it together fast and be strong if she was going to survive, and if she was going to be able to help Nanoha. They had to end this conversation fast and get going before the approaching enemy had them surrounded with no escape.

"Fate," Arf said, "I can't say for sure what happened to Nanoha yet but I have a pretty good idea. Take a deep breath, calm yourself first because like this you are of no help to her, and I believe Nanoha needs your help more then ever right now."

A moment passed. Fate looked away from Arf as a single tear, something she had not been able to do for so long, to cry for someone she cared for, spilled from her left eye and rolled down her cheek. She sniffed, blinked back the tears that wanted to follow and wiped her face. One deep inhale and she looked back at Arf with a steady gaze. Her eyes still held sadness and guilt, but there was also a sense of purpose that Arf saw there.

Arf nodded her head and gave a small smile back at Fate. "Good, now listen carefully because the enemy is almost here. Fate, you have nothing to be guilty about. From what I can tell, you saved Nanoha's life but were injured in the process."

Fate opened her mouth to protest but Arf just put up her hand and gave her a stern look, stopping Fate from saying anything.

"You got her as far as here, but then as anyone would with injuries like you had, you collapsed. I suspect that Nanoha realized you could not go on without medical attention so she took it upon herself to draw the enemy away from this location. She succeeded which is why Chrono and I found you here alive, not the enemy."

"Then where is Nanoha?" Fate asked.

"Captured."

Fate sprung to her feet hearing this. "No! I have to go, I have to save her." Panic clung to the edge of her voice.

Chrono reached out and gently, yet firmly grasped Fate's forearm to keep her from bolting out the door.

"Fate, stop for a moment. Do you even know where to look? Do you know how to defeat the aliens? Listen Fate, I have a partner and he is right now working to locate the aliens' secret hideout." Chrono told her.

"That's right Fate," jumped in Arf. "If they have her, then that is where they will take 'll soon have that location and then we'll save Nanoha, together."

The blonde tightened her fists, inhaled trying to control the slight trembling that went through her body. She closed her eyes, then opened them to look at Arf and Chrono. "Thank you. What should we do Arf?"

Arf nodded her head approvingly as she took in Fate's steady gaze filled with determination. "Well the first thing we should do is get the hell out of here!"

Outside the aliens canvasing the street were only three buildings away.

***mglnmglnmglnmglnmgln* -**

Disclaimer: Characters from MGLN are not my property.

**A/N:** My first attempt at this chapter was almost 8,000 words! But it really fell apart. I took what I could and rewrote this chapter.

Thank you for reviews and new followers. It is much appreciated. 4 reviews away from my goal for my first story! You all are the best, and it spurs me on to not give up till the story gets done. This chapter now acts as a bridge. I expect 3 more chapters to go.


	10. 10: On The Edge And About To Fall Off

First sentence of the story comes from the first sentence of the following book:

**Three Cups of Tea** by Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin

Original sentence from the book:

_Greg watched and listened as the children sang Pakistan's national anthem to start their school day._

* * *

**{~ MGLN~MGLN~}**

**Chapter 10: **_**On The Edge And About To Fall Off**_

* * *

**Myuki watched and listened as the children sang the national anthem to start their school day. **

As the last slightly off-key note sounded the second graders turned to face their teacher bowing to her in greeting. Then a quietude fell upon the class. The children waited to be told to sit, but their teacher, Takamachi-sensei said nothing. She stood still facing the flag with her hand still over her heart and a worried, dazed expression on her face, not realizing that the singing had ended till the classroom of 8 year olds began to fidget and murmur in their discomfort, unsure how to behave.

"T-Takamachi-sensei?" Several of her students called out to her in slightly hesitant voices.

Myuki Takamachi, second grade teacher at Uminari Tokaido Elementary School, blinked her eyes and gave her head a shake to clear her thoughts.

"I-I'm sorry children, please be seated." She pushed up her round wire rimmed glasses that had slid down her nose and gently smiled at her class.

Myuki looked down at her day's notes and began giving out the daily announcements and instructions, but in the back of her mind she continued to worry about her little sister Nanoha who had not come home last night, and never called to say where she was. Her mother had called last night unexpectedly around 10 pm asking if she had heard from Nanoha. Over the phone lines she heard her mother's voice quivering. Hearing the strong woman's voice break like that had sent a tendril of fear for her little sister deep into Myuki's breast.

And so, last night while her father drove around to places that they all thought Nanoha might be, places she often visited, her mother began to make calls to the area hospitals, while Myuki got on the phone calling Nanoha's friends. Her brother was away on a business trip, due back tomorrow, so they thought it best not to tell him what was happening because, as they kept telling each other, it may be just a false alarm; Nanoha would be back safe and sound by the time he returned home. They kept assuring each other that Nanoha was just out late with some friends or working on a school project and had simply forgot to call. But underneath the charade they knew the truth, Nanoha was too considerate to let anyone worry about her; being a burden to others was what she hated most.

After Myuki finally reached Dr. Scaglietti, Nanoha's math professor, they had learned that she had missed an appointment with him earlier in the day. Dr. Scaglietti was upset to think that Nanoha was missing and volunteered to contact the University police to look for her. He even insisted that he personally would head over to the math department on campus and check every nock and cranny of the building. Myuki had thanked the professor.

Sometime after midnight they decided to call the police who had been very sympathetic and took down the information on Nanoha, but then they informed the family that there was nothing they could do for at least 24 hours. If Nanoha was still missing at that time they could then file a missing persons report. Myuki's mother had broken down crying at that point, leaning into her haggard faced husband's shoulder. He quietly wrapped his arm around her, then extended his other arm to his eldest daughter.

Now, as Myuki began the first mornings lesson, she could not stop thinking,_ 'Nanoha, where are you? Please, be safe and come home soon.'_

* * *

**{~MGLN~MGLN~}**

Fate, Arf and Chrono stood in a recessed doorway of the building across the street from the train station in downtown Uminari City. A light drizzle fell from the sky, the dampness upon her skin causing Fate to tremble as much as her fear did. They watched the people going in and out of the terminal, each looking for signs that the people they were watching might be the enemy.

The three had barely escaped their predicament in the old abandoned port area of the city and had spent several hours making their way to the station. During their escape Chrono had been in contact with his partner, Vice and learned that he had traced the tracking device Arf had placed in Nanoha's bag at the scene of the car accident from yesterday, to a building just outside the campus of Uminari University and had set up surveillance near by. They had agreed to rendezvous with him as soon as they retrieved the device left in the locker at the station by TSAB special agent Lanster.

Fate was anxious. She just wanted to get to Nanoha as fast as possible, making sure she was safe, and didn't really care about the idiotic device except she recalled, with a shiver, the intensity and urgency of the voice on the phone telling her it was the key to saving the world. Arf and Chrono had insisted they needed to retrieve it from the station locker.

"Lanster would not have risked everything if this device wasn't crucial." Chrono told Fate with a serious look on his face - not that he had shown her any other expression since they had met.

"That's right Fate," Arf confirmed trying to look just as serious. " Lanster and I were the first to follow the Aliens to Earth. He worked for two months undercover. One week ago he requested backup saying he was on the verge of securing a device that could cripple the Aliens' plan."

"So what did he learn about the aliens? Just what is this device?" Fate asked Arf in a hopeful voice. Fate knew knowledge was power, and she would use that power to help save Nanoha.

"I wish I knew, Fate." Arf replied shaking her head. "Lanster was deep undercover when he signaled for back up. Prior to that his contacts with me were few and very brief in fear of being intercepted by the enemy. In his last contact with me he indicated that the aliens had a device that if we could acquire it, we could use against them and save this planet."

"What you are talking about is the thing he told me of during the phone call I received from him, right? The thing in the locker."

"That's right. He planned to steal it and get it to TSAB, but something went wrong."

Fate quirked one of her eyebrows. "Yeah, he ended up calling me! I still don't understand why I got that call." Her burgundy eyes were filled with confusion.

"Well..." Arf scratched the back of her head and looked away. "You see, he couldn't give me a precise time of when he would make his move, the aliens were suspicious of him. We made a plan for him to call me using your Earth telephone system incase the aliens were watching for TSAB activity. I waited by the phone for his call but, you already know how that went. It was just chance that he dialed the wrong number Fate."

Fate took in what Arf said but a nagging thought still plaqued her mind.

"Just chance huh? How then did you know Arf that it was me that Lanster had called by mistake? I mean he told me there would be a sign in the morning, and there you were, a t-t-talking dog for heaven's sake." Fate still had some trouble getting her mind around the idea of Arf in her four legged furry form talking to her.

"What time was it that you received the phone call Fate?" Arf asked

"A little after 3am."

"I thought so. That was the moment I felt it. I felt a bond connecting you and I."

Fate looked puzzled. "Wha - What do you mean Arf?"

"I'm really not sure myself, Fate. I don't know what is causing this but from the moment you answered Lanster's phone call I have known about you. I don't mean I am in your mind or anything, but I do feel like I have a homing sense that is drawing me to you.

"Did he put a GPS device on me?"

"No," Arf replied. "Its not a device, its more like an inner connection between the two of us. I also feel that I can sense how you are feeling and I get a strong sense that you are a good person Fate, someone I feel protective of. I think my connection to you is something Lanster did when he called you. Maybe it is one of the features of this mysterious device."

"It's weird and I can't believe I am saying this, but I think I understand what you mean, Arf. I think I have been feeling a bond too." The two looked each other in the eye for a moment feeling their special connection before two grins, the blonde's shy the redhead's broad and open, spread across their faces.

"hmmm-hmmmm," Chrono cleared his throat interrupting their moment. "Okay girls, I think its time we focus on the task at hand. Because we have no idea if hostiles are present, Fate give us the locker number and then stay here and wait while Arf and I recover the device."

"No"

"... What do you mean no?" If possible, Chrono gave an even sterner look then usual. "You're a civilian. We have no idea what we are walking into when we go into that station. There could be a fight ahead. This is not a suggestion. Give us the locker number and wait for us here where it is relatively safe."

"No. Sorry but the voice..ah, Lanster said to trust no one, and I am not going to hide and do nothing when Nanoha is still in danger."

Chrono took one angry step forward toward the tall blonde, his frustration showing on his face. He was determined to keep the young Earth woman out of the conflict as much as possible, but his chivalry was being rejected by the very person he wanted to keep from harm. Just as he was standing almost nose to nose with Fate he received a hip check throwing him off balance. Chrono stumbled and almost fell but Fate reached out just in time and caught his arm, pulling him back up right.

"What the fuck?" Chrono cursed his cheeks reddening slightly as he turned to a guilty looking Arf.

"Sorry Chrono." Arf put her hands together in front of her chest and bowed her head towards the dark blue haired man. "I don't think you are going to win this argument. I can feel Fate's resolve. Don't worry though, I'll watch her back."

"..."

"Fine." Chrono answered gruffly. "Just keep your head down and do what ever I say Testarossa-san. Is that understood?"

Fate smiled, but her burgundy eyes took on a steely look. "I can do that."

"What's the locker number."

"N6203"

Chrono opened up a communication device and quickly typed in the information Fate had just provided them.

"Its towards the back of the station on the left side of the ticket counter. There is an exit onto the north bound train platform near it, and a staircase, number 12N to the underground parking garage is four meters in front of it." Chrono showed Arf and Fate the schematic on his viewer.

"Okay, here is how we will handle this," he continued. "Arf, you and Fate will make your way around to the underground parking lot and come up the staircase near the locker. I will head in through the front entrance. I doubt the hostiles will be on the lookout for me so I should have a chance to scout out the situation in the station. When you get to the top of the stairs, wait for my command to come in. Got it?"

"Roger that, Chrono" Arf nodded her head in agreement.

"...ah, ok." was Fates reply.

* * *

**{~MGLN~MGLN~}**

Nanoha had awoken several hours ago to find her wrists and ankles strapped down to a hard metal chair. A strap tightly running across her throat preventing her from leaning forward. The small 10x10 room was hot and humid, sweat dripped down her temples sticking her hair to her forehead and the back of her neck. A bare bulb floor lamp placed in front of her glared into her eyes making it hard to see beyond, and only through a teary squint could she detect a latched door in front of her, the only entrance to the room. Her eyes began to glaze over as she waited.

A hard slap across her cheek brought her round to the realization that she had at some point blacked out.

"Ugh..." A coppery taste invaded Nanoha's mouth, and she felt blood drool from the corner of her lips.

"Well, well, well sleepy head its time to rise and shine. Ahhahaha, it won't do to have the little princes look out of sorts before meeting our supreme leader." The words were mocking and venomous and the monotone tenor of the woman's voice nettled Nanoha like fingernails scratched along a chalkboard. Nanoha silently berated herself as an uncontrolled shudder passed through her body.

The woman reached out her hand and gently cupped Nanoha's bruised cheek, a thumb brushing lightly across her lips, wiping away the line of blood running down her chin. Nanoha blinked her eyes into focus to see a female figure wearing a white lab coat standing before her. The woman's blank expression in her golden eyes almost hidden behind her round glasses, and long punk like bangs of light brown hair. Nanoha tried to turn her head away, to ignore the woman, but the strap around her throat constricted cutting off her airway. Coughing and sputtering she was forced to turn her head back. Nanoha refused to be defeated, putting a glare on her face .

"What. Do. You. Want. With. Me." Nanoha's voice, angry, conveyed the emotion that the other could not.

"I do not want anything of you my deary, but the good doctor seems to have become enamored with our little princess."

"The doctor? Do you mean Dr Scaglietti?" Nanoha questioned.

"Why of course. You are his special pet."

"I'm no pet of that man!"

"My, my, my our princess seems to be upset. We can't have any of that since you will be meeting the good doctor very soon, now can we."

The woman's hand glided gently down Nanoha's cheek, down past her jaw and across her slender neck feeling the rough leather of the strap. Once the hand found the strap buckle and tongue, the woman grasped it and gave a yank, pulling the strap one notch tighter around Nanoha's throat. The brunette, breathless, choked and sputtered as black spots began to consume her vision.

"Hmmmm, that's right, we can't have you acting all bratty in front of our supreme leader. He so adores you!. Let's see..." the woman reached into the pocket of the lab coat she was wearing, and pulled something out of her pocket. The last thing Nanoha's blue eyes saw was the number IV on the woman's collar and a syringe in the woman's hand.

* * *

**{~MGLN~MGLN~}**

**A/N **Sorry my friends to take so long and then to drag it out yet another chapter - but I promise in the next chapter there is a lot happening as Fate and crew retrieve the mysterious device from the locker. I really had hoped to include it in this chapter but all depends on the sentence I get, and this one from _Three Cups of Tea_ led me in this direction. Three Cups of Tea by the way is a wonderful book about a man who creates an organization to promote peace by building schools and bringing education to those who had little to no access, especially girls.

Thank you to all my reviewers - and for putting me over my goal of 50 reviews for my first story! You guys keep me committed to see this project to the end - but remind me to never do a challenge like this - (random first sentence) again. It has taken this story down twists and turns I never expected nor can control!

Disclaimer: Just a reminder that I do not own any part of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha and am receiving no compensation for being a fan who is silly enough to make up stories about cartoon characters!


	11. Numbers Don't Always Add Up

**A/N:**

Each chapter of this story has started with a random sentence. A sentence that is a first sentence of a book laying about in the various spaces of my home. this one was in my bathroom where I keep a stack for reading on the days I prefer a bath to a shower. A friend spotted it and made the selection. I have to say, Margaret Atwood is a great choice for my story. I have a few of her books so I hope another is picked for a future chapter...

Regular = narrative

_italic_ = Nanoha's dream state

_'italic'_ with single parenthesis = thoughts

" ..." = words in double parenthesis = dialog

**Bold** = flashback & first line from book

Disclaimer: Only the weird plot is mine, all else belongs to the creators, etc of MGLN.

* * *

First line:

Time is not a line but a dimension, like the dimensions of space.

The book: Cat's Eye, by Margaret Atwood

* * *

**{MGLN~MGLN~MGLN}**

Chapter 11: Numbers Don't Always Add Up

**Time is not a line but a dimension, like the dimensions of space.** _Thus in Nanoha's drugged induced state, her mind rambled back and forth from revisiting her past to envisioning her future. Like a time traveler, she saw her and her older siblings sneaking sweets still hot from off the cookie sheets in her parent's bakery back when they were little, her father's frowning face when they would get caught - and they always did - hauling them all off to the family dojo for "discipline" but what would turn into a time of family fun as her father taught each of them some new kendo move while their mother clapped and cheered them on._

_One childhood memory lapsed into another; her happy school days that she spent with her dear friends Alisa and Suzuka; the times her mother sang her a lullaby to lull her back to sleep after a scary dream; her brother's annoying (but secretly appreciated) over protectiveness when boys started to notice Nanoha as she reached puberty. Her dad's pride as she and her siblings one after the other graduated from high school top of their classes. A warmth filled her chest with these thoughts dancing in her mind._

_Overlapping visions from her past was her first sight of a certain blonde's face, and while upon looking at that sleeping, golden vista, she first saw those special eyes open, capturing her in a crimson heaven, both lovely and lonely. Another moment played in her head of her and Fate walking along the side walk having an animated discussion. The very shy Fate had shown her that crooked smile, and Nanoha felt an unparalleled happiness in her heart as she listened to the tall blonde's deep alluring voice. She was overcome by a warmth as she recalled waking up on Fate's back, her strong arms supporting her body._

_Now, in the far reaches of her thoughts, just on the very edge of her peripheral sight, another reverie laced its way through her mind, this one dark and ominous, casting a shadow across the happier memories of the past and present day. An unfamiliar vision, one she knew was of a future in which those very same crimson colored orbs are devoid of feelings, as red tears flow down skin so pale as to appear translucent._

_Slithering about, between each vision of the past, present and future was a vile sound, a hideous presence hidden inside a man's voice full of mathematical calculations; gently urging out partial differential equations, transcendental numbers, and harmonic means from his brilliant student._

* * *

In her semi-unconscious delirium, rather then seeing stars, Nanoha saw numbers, and these numbers were convalescing with her unconscious manipulations and calculations, into equations that brought an insidious smile onto the face of her tutor, Jail Scaglietti. He was so close to winning it all. He could just taste it. He bent over her, suddenly licking Nanoha's cheek. He smirked. He couldn't help himself.

Jail Scaglietti realized he needed to get control of himself again, and carried on in a soothing, velvety voice.

"That's right Nanoha, what is the formula you see to connect the present to the past? You want to see your happy family having dinner together right? Do you remember how wonderful it was telling each other about your day?"

"Yes. Mom is smiling at sis because she keeps asking can we have a dog. It seems that her friend has a new puppy and..."

"That's right Nanoha. What numbers are around you at the dinner table? Listen and look carefully. Transport yourself back to that moment."

Jail Scaglietti waited with baited breath for Nanoha's next set of co-ordinates. He giddily rubbed his hands together as a diabolical grin spread across his face. But he quickly checked himself once again. When he spoke to Nanoha it was in his voice as her long time tutor and beloved college professor.

Nanoha's brows drew together in a frown, and she chewed on her lower lip in concentration as her brain began to process complex formulas.

"Get ready for more numbers to feed it." Jail told his number one assistant, Uno.

"Yes Doctor." she flatly acknowledged him as she placed her hands upon a console for the computer interface.

Suddenly Nanoha smiled. In her hypnotic haze the numbers and symbols that had been spinning around the images of her past suddenly jumped out clear and crisp in her minds eye. She understood.

"..."

Uno began feeding data into the machine which began to hum.

**{MGLN~MGLN~MGLN}**

Chrono stood in the center of the train station. Its western style architecture reminiscent of the Meiji period, the building was made of stone in a Neo-Renaissance design, or at least a Japanese interpretation of such; inside the cavernous space had high vaulted ceilings supported by marble columns, and a mahogany ticket counter in the center. On two sides arched entrances led to train platforms, and smaller doors installed during renovations that led to the underground parking lot, while on the third side was a marble stairway that led to offices and meeting rooms on the upper floor.

As Chrono had casually strolled about the building, walking over to a drinking fountain for a sip of water, waiting in line at a coffee stand, going to the platforms to check the arrival and departure signs overhead, but all the while checking out the employees and passengers around him. If any were turned into aliens, the dark haired enforcer felt that the employees would be a strategic target to take over for the enemy. They could easily then be used to spread the alien invasion throughout the city, and even the country.

He spotted two ticket agents that he felt were likely suspects with there blank expressions, and at least one conductor who seemed to preside over the platforms near the locker that he had already checked out. When a young boy tripped and fell right in front of him the railroad worker had no reaction what so ever.

Chrono stood nearby waiting for the uniformed conductor to walk away before finally signaling to Arf and Fate to enter the building and meet up with him at the locker.

"Make sure to keep your hoodie up Fate," Arf told the girl in a hushed tone.

Fate adjusted the hood of the black sweatshirt with a yellow letter "B", a symbol for an American hockey team plastered on the front. They had acquired the sweatshirt for her during their trek to the station. She made sure none of her blonde hair was showing. Fate slouched a bit, hunching her shoulders making herself appear smaller, and cast her face downwards.

Arf gave a nod of approval.

"Your a natural at this Fate. Just keep your eyes cast downwards as much as you can. The unusual color of your eyes could easily give us away since they know what you look like."

Fate gave a nod back to Arf, indicating she understood.

Arf pulled the door open and as they entered the main area of the station she reminded Fate to stay next to the wall and near to her at all times. For her part, Arf walked just ahead of Fate partly obscuring any view of the girl. She saw Chrono standing by the locker and strode towards him. Her eyes casually surveyed the premise noting the same individuals Chrono had, and a few of the slacked face people walking through seemed to be possible suspects as well.

"We've got a problem." Chrono spoke softly to them when they had reached his location. Arf acted like she was putting something into the locker next to the one that held the device.

"I tried to break in to the locker Fate gave me the number for, but my device scanner couldn't pick the lock. It just wouldn't work." Chrono scratched his head in puzzlement.

As an enforcer he often had to break into places, and things all the time. His scanner had the capability to pick locks across the galaxy. Certainly a simple key lock like this, on a low technology planet like Earth, should be no problem, yet that is just what it had become.

"I don't get it." Arf said. She knew they could bust into the locker but that would attract attention they could not afford. They needed to get in and out fast before the enemy detected them. They were very exposed here and with a civilian.

Fate moved up between them and stood in front of the locker, staring at it. All of this, the mysterious phone call that haunted her, the attacks on her and Nanoha, of Nanoha getting hurt then kidnapped, even meeting a talking dog, all of it came down to what was inside this bloody locker and she would be damned if it wasn't going to open now.

"You tried locker N6203 right?" Fate asked Chrono without turning her head.

"Yes! Locker N62..." Chrono's speech was cut off as they all heard a low hum start up from inside the locker.

"..."

"What's h-happening?" Fate asked, a slight tremor in her voice. She was afraid of what was inside the locker, but she knew they had to retrieve it. Nanoha needed them, needed her. She squared off her shoulders, standing up tall and slowly reached out with her right hand to hesitantly touch the metal surface of the locker.

A pale golden yellow light filtered out around the edges of the locker's door, pulsing as the hum became more of an undulating rhythm.

"Ugh!" A static shock coursed its way up Fate's arm that was touching the locker and down through her body. Arf grabbed the tall girl by the back of her hoodie and pulled her away. With the hoodie pulled back, long blonde hair tied by a black ribbon in a low pony tail spilled out. A golden yellow halo surrounded Fate as the light from the locker increased in intensity.

Just then, an ear shattering screech echoed throughout the train station as Fate, Arf and Chrono quickly covered their ears with their hands, buckling over in pain. Arf looked up towards the mahogany ticket counter. The two ticket agents who they had suspected as being aliens - well, they were. Both stood as stiff as if gripped by rigor mortis, with eyes rolled back in their heads, blood flowing freely from their noses and ears, and mouths wide open emptying their lungs as the high pitch squeal gushed out from between their lips that were turning blue.

All around people were doubled over just like they were with hands to ears. Babies were wailing in pain, children crying for their mothers and fathers, adults moaning.

"Keep your ears covered." Chrono managed to say with a grimace of pain on his face. He noticed at least six more aliens, some passengers, some workers, in the same condition as the ticket agents as they too screamed out their lungs.

Fate, Chrono and Arf put their heads together in a huddle.

"Things are going to get really fucked now!" Arf yelled to be heard over the continuing din reverberating off the hard stone walls.

"Why?" Fate asked as she winched in pain. Hadn't it already all gone to hell? What could be worse. The way the screech penetrated her body was like biting on aluminum foil. She was also tingling still from the static shock she had received from what ever was inside the locker.

"Because," shouted Chrono, "they are calling in their troops. Look around, it's broad daylight, in the middle of the city, in a busy public space. They are out to stop us at all costs even if it means revealing themselves to your world before they are fully ready for conquest."

"What should we do?"

"We get what we came for and we get out fast before our escape is cut off and there are too many civilian casualties. We have superior weapons and strength for now, but even that will not hold off the vast numbers of troops that will soon surround us if we do not hurry."

Fate looked to the right of her feet. Not twenty feet away lay a little girl curled up in a fetal position, hands over ears, moaning. Her mother, in the same condition, tried to shield the child with her body but with little effect.

Fate swallowed - hard. '_Fucked up is right_,' she thought.

"Fate," Arf called to her. Their eyes met. Blood had started to drip out of Fate's nose.

"You have to retrieve the device from the locker. Chrono and I will hold them off till you do."

"But how do I..."

Cutting her off Arf yelled, "It responded to you Fate. Lanster must have set up a trigger for the device to respond to the person he called on the phone. He meant me..."

"But he got me instead. Yeah, we've been there already."

Even with calamity about to rain down upon their heads Fate felt a smirk come to her lips.

**{MGLN~MGLN~MGLN}**

A ponytailed youthful male wearing glasses entered the room where Dr. Jail Scaglietti was conducting his experiment on his prized possession, Nanoha Takamachi. He loathed interruptions at this delicate phase of extracting the information he needed from his math protege in order to fully activate the machine that took up much of the back half of the room.

He already suffered through one disruption just thirty minutes ago when it was reported to him, by this very same drone, (as Scaglietti thought of the lower alien foot soldiers) that his elite team of cyborgs sent out to capture the Testarossa woman had been eliminated.

'TSAB,' he thought angrily all the while keeping a calm facade in front of the semi- comatose chestnut haired woman. He looked at her naked body strapped down to the cold metal surgical table with tubes feeding into various parts of her body. How he wished he didn't have to coddle her all those years. This was the way he always pictured her every time he cheered on her mathematical genius ever since she was a little girl.

* * *

**_(flashback)..._**

**Jail remembered fondly when nine year old Nanoha had asked him what good did studying math do? He had answered with a pat to her head.**

**"Nanoha you can help people in all kinds of ways with mathematics."**

**"You can?" The little brunette in pigtails wondered.**

**"Yes my dear. Some types of math help people to save money so they can send their children to good schools. That's a good thing isn't it Nanoha?"**

**"Un" Nanoha shook her head yes with a serious look on her face.**

**"Numbers could even help people to understand the stars in the heavens. Would you like that, Nanoha" **

**"Un, un!" Nanoha shook her head again vigorously. The little girl loved stars and a big smile came to her face.**

**"And some mathematics Nanoha can be used to help stop global warming. You know if the planet keeps getting warmer polar bears would lose their home. You would want to help the polar bears keep their home wouldn't you Nanoha?**

**"Could I do that?" The little girl's eyes sparkled.**

**" If you study your math real hard with me I think you could do just that. By the way my little princess, did you know that there are even numbers that can create a path to different worlds both in the past and in the future where little girls just like you can travel to make new friends. Do you like making new friends Nanoha?" Scaglietti asked with a big toothy grin on his face as he leaned in close, really close to the girl.**

**"I really love making friends! I can do that? I can go there and make new friends?" Nanoha's big blue innocent eyes shown with excitement, even as her body moved back from the man on its own.**

**"If you work with me Nanoha, we can open that door to new friends together."**

_**(end flashback)...**_

* * *

'_I never told you one thing my little princess, the people on the other side of that door don't like new friends_.' Scaglietti thought to himself as his eyes wondered over Nanoha's body.

He was pulled back from his reverie by the man with the long ponytail waiting to report some new news.

"hhmmhhmmm." The man cleared his throat.

"What is it now?"

Jail's tone was calm but beneath it was a smoldering mass of anger and hate. He knew he had to keep Nanoha in her state, a delicate balance between consciousness and a dream state. One where her imagination and intellect could follow his voice to form the calculations needed in order to create a reality where the spacial dimensional time flux between the timelines of the past, present and future could be made real and controllable. No world would be immune to their advance with this ability. She was his key, the closest he has ever come to success. His dream of ruling the universe was close at hand.

"The Testarossa woman along with two allies is in the train station downtown and they found the device. It has been activated." The male's monotone voice washed over Scaglietti.

"..."

For just a moment it was as if time froze. Then suddenly Scaglietti pounded both of his fists down on the metal tray beside the bed Nanoha was strapped to. Sharp, pointy surgical tools, some still with dried blood on them, were sent dangerously flying about the room as the metal tray fell with a loud clatter against the white tile floor. Uno had to duck quickly to avoid being stabbed by one. Scaglietti put both hands in his hair and pulled in frustration, his face turning almost the shade of his long unkempt purple hair.

"Arrrrrgh!" Jail took a menacing step towards the pony tailed male.

"Sir?"

"Why. Can't. Any. Of. You. Shitheads. Kill. One. Fucking. Brat?"

With each staccato word Scaglietti stepped closer to the male, till he hovered over him like a vulture.

"Sir, she has help."

Jail Scaglietti grasped the young man by the throat and began to throttle him, knocking his round glasses off, stepping on them.

"She got help? YOU IDIOTS!"

Scaglietti let a growl escape his lips as his fingers tightened around the young male's throat.

"BECAUSE NOONE AROUND HERE IS COMPETENT, THE TSAB GOT TO HER FIRST. AND NOW THEY HAVE THE DEVICE!"

Scaglietti threw the man into a set of shelves near the entrance to the room, knocking off bottles of drugs and equipment he uses in his experiments. They all fell along with the man in a cacophony of loud noises to the floor.

* * *

In Nanoha's mind there was an intrusion of sounds that came from outside her visions that were dancing in her head. An angry shouting voice, a voice she recognized and hated became like a life line, pulling her back up out of her haze. She awoke to discover that she could not move. She was tied down to a hard smooth surface. The only thing she could do was lift her head just a bit. Raising her head She felt a blush cross her cheeks for just a moment of feeling vulnerable as she discovered her bodies nakedness. But then indignation and anger overwhelmed her. She clenched her fists.

Scaglietti unaware that his experiment had become conscious again hovered over the fallen man, continuing his vicious assault.

"I don't care what it takes," his voice seething in hatred and anger, "but I want every one of our available people, to converge on that train station and kill that fucking blonde bitch, her two accomplishes and get that device. DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR!?"

A silence fell on the room. Only the hard breathing of Scaglietti and a soft whimper from Nanoha, along with a slight hum from somewhere behind her could be heard. During Scaglietti's tirade Nanoha could not see much of what was happening, as it was below the table she was strapped to. She watched and listened in horror every time Scaglietti's arm would rise up and then pummel down creating a thud followed by a soft squishy sound on impact. Each time his arm rose up she could see his white lab coat covered in a growing stain of red. When she heard the words he said she felt both relief and fear enter her body.

Fate was alive and had escaped. Tears of relief fell from Nanoha's eyes. She had even found people to help her. '_Getting caught was worth it then_', Nanoha thought. But what was the shy blonde up to. Why did she have to draw attention to herself. She feared for Fate's safety again. They ... no, he wanted to kill her new friend. That was when a whimper she could not hold back escaped her lips.

* * *

Scaglietti heard that whimper and knew that his experiment had wakened. It was a set back he would have to take care of. As he rose from hovering over the man he had just beaten he gave the male drone a good kick while looking at the blood covered face and lifeless eyes.

"Tck, I guess I didn't make myself heard."

Jail Scaglietti walked over to an intercom on the wall and pushed a button.

"Attention all personal."

Jails voice boomed across the complex. Everyone stopped what they were doing, turning their emotionless faces towards the speakers of the rooms they were in.

"With the exception of those working in the labs, communications, life support, and security of this facility, I want all the rest of you to make your way to Uminari City Train Station and kill Fate Testarossa, the two TSAB agents with her, and anyone else that gets in your way. Once done with that, bring to me the device ..."

**{MGLN~MGLN~MGLN}**

**A/N:** Can anyone guess what Fate and Scaglietti were about to say?

I thank all the readers who have stayed with me on this journey. I know I keep saying it is a convoluted and difficult path the story has traveled, often at a trudging pace. But that is because it is! Anyway, I finally have an idea of where it is leading (after 11 chapters its about time!) and I hope you will find the journey well worth it in the end.

ciao ~ SS.


	12. Genius of Madness and Sorrow

**Touch The Earth**

Chapter 12: _Genius Of Madness and Sorrow_

**A/N:**

_Italic = thoughts_

This chapter's arbitrary 1st sentence from a book is:

**"To be born again," sang Gibreel Farishta tumbling from the heavens, "first you have to die."**

From _The Satanic Verses_ by —Salman Rushdie,(1988)

Disclaimer: I do not have any rights to MGLN. This is merely a fictional story that is written for fun, no money has been exchanged.

Please note: There are some disturbing images and language in this chapter.

* * *

**{MGLN~MGLN~MGLN~}**

""**To be born again," sang Bardiche tumbling from the heavens, "first you have to die."**"

Fate read the single cryptic sentence on the aged, yellowed scrap of parchment she found inside locker N6203 along with a golden triangular crystal. It didn't make any sense to her.

"Bardiche?" She repeated the name.

As if in response the crystal began to glow a warm yellow light, pulsing, building in it's intensity of brightness. Fate swung her arm across her face to protect her eyes from the light.

Behind Fate was a scene of pandemonium. Many civilians were strewn across the train station floor in an unconscious state, some with bleeding ears caused by the siren screech the alien replicas had released. Having exhausted every ounce of oxygen in their lungs to sound the alarm, they had collapsed dead from asphyxiation.

In their place a huge mob of aliens had been summoned and were now invading the train station. They came in every shape, size, age and gender. Some had only their hands for weapons while others had pipes, knives, bricks and stones to throw. But other aliens wore police and special forces uniforms armed with much deadlier weapons.

As Arf and Chrono looked about, fighting off the first to reach them, they saw the doors being barricaded, cutting off their escape.

"Arf," Chrono shouted a command, "Secure an exit route for us, I'll cover Fate."

Chrono stayed near to Fate, protecting her. With a feeling of nausea he had just put down a boy of ten or so who had come at them with a baseball bat.

_Keep it together Chrono - that was not a human child anymore. _He thought to himself.

Hearing the staccato sound of gun fire, Chrono activated the device in his hand creating a blue ion shield just in time to deflect bullets that had been headed for Fate's back.

"Hurry Fate, it is getting harder to hold them off." Chrono shouted.

"I - I'm trying, I just need a few more s-seconds." she called back.

Arf morphed into her wolf form, rushing forward with claws and jaws to take down the enemies that posed the greatest threat. As fast as she was, she still felt the sting of a bullet grazing her left shoulder and blood seeping out of the wound. She quickly turned and bit through the arm of the alien who had shot at her, causing the middle-aged portly male to drop his handgun. Looking around for her next attack, she could see that they had eliminated at least twelve of the enemy so far, but it was a small dent as the mob increased. To her dismay she could see that innocent humans caught in the mêlée were also being injured and killed.

Suddenly Arf felt all the hair on her body stand up on end. Static electricity was building and she saw several enemies drop just by shocking themselves. There was a golden light brighter than before that pulsed though the building, what followed next was a loud crackling sound as lightning discharged.

* * *

While still protecting her eyes from the brilliant light, Fate had nervously reached into the locker to pick up the triangular crystal. Just as she touched it there was a tremendous electrical discharge. Electricity surged through her body. Fate's burgundy eyes opened wide in shock. An intense pain like none other she had ever felt before coursed up her arm and through her body. She could smell her flesh burning. Her hand spasm then reflex took over and closed it around the yellow device as Fate dropped to the floor. Her breathing had stopped, her open burgundy eyes dulled, starred at nothing. Wisps of smoke rose from her body. Her burned arm holding the device had fallen across her resting limply on her chest.

Arf, not wanting to get shocked by the static discharge had transformed back into her human form and was groggily getting to her feet. All around her were the fallen - some unconscious, some disoriented. Arf realized that her superior strength had her recovering from the electrical shock faster than her enemies. This was the chance they needed. She could quickly put down the mob while they were still incapacitated then the three of them could make their escape.

Except, something was not right. Arf felt a hollow sensation borrowing deep into her guts. That bond she felt with Fate since two nights ago was... gone. As Arf turned towards the lockers she saw a shield around Chrono go down and heard his distressed voice.

"Fate, FATE! ... Arf, F-Fate is ..."

"... dead." Arf finished for him.

**{MLGN~MLGN~MLGN}**

"...make your way to Uminari City Train Station and kill Fate Testarossa, the two TSAB agents with her, and anyone else that gets in your way. Once done with that, bring to me the device... Bardiche!"

Scaglietti released his finger from the intercom button. With a cold and angry face, his mouth twisted into a demonic grin he turned to the brunette lashed down, naked on the surgical table behind him. He had heard her whimper as he gave his command to his troops.

Jail took one step back towards Nanoha when he heard the crunch of breaking glass under his foot. Looking down he noticed he had trodden on the dead male's glasses. He looked at the long-haired carcass and gave it a hard kick to the gut.

He shouted out to his assistants in the other room, "Will somebody come in here and get this thing out of my lab! Do I have to do everything myself? Geez! And if you want to live... Nobody will disturb me again while I work on this piece. of. shit!"

His venomous gold eyes turned on Nanoha as several of his assistants slunk in quietly behind him to drag the body away.

She whimpered again. She couldn't help it. She could feel a warm fluid pooling beneath her. She hated how weak she was right now. She hated that he wanted to hurt Fate and she could do nothing about it. She felt her checks grow warm with her shame.

"Oh did the little princess wet herself? Hahahaha"

"..."

"Well shake and scream and cry all you want. Shit yourself for all I care. I'm through playing the nice guy with you. All those years! All that cuddling a shitty little princess like you. And look at you, whimpering, snot dripping from your nose, and laying in your own piss. Yes! Hahaha... Go ahead, beg for your freedom, for your life!"

"... hiccup ... L-l-leave... Fate.. ALONE!" Nanoha's voice began weak, with a quiet tremble but ended in an angry shout. Her blue eyes darkened with her disgust for this man who stood before her. Her sensei. She spat at him.

Jail Scaglietti wiped his chin as a new anger swelled within him. How dare this helpless thing defy him. She should be cowering in fear, the ungrateful pig.

"Oh. I see that useless blonde bitch has gotten under your skin. Well she'll be done with any minute now, and its a good thing too. Did you know Takamachi-san that she killed her own twin sister? Hmmm? Bet you didn't know that, but unlike you, I did my research."

"W-What? You're a lier! Fate-chan is a good and kind person. She wouldn't hurt anyone. I swear if you do anything to her I... I... I will kill you!" Nanoha fought against her bindings but they held her down tight.

"HAHAHAHA you have to be kidding me my little princess of pee." He looked down upon her bound body as he reached for a syringe next to the table. "You are in nooooo position to threaten me!."

Nanoha could feel her face turning red in humiliation as Scaglietti spoke, but she pushed her embarrassment and shame aside. All that mattered was Fate-chan's well being.

"M-mmaybe I can't physically hurt you but you need something from me and if Fate-chan is hurt in any way I w-will never give it to you."

"So?"

Jail brushed off her little tirade as if she was just a pesky bug that simply needed to be swatted away.

...

She blinked. She blinked again. Scaglietti's behavior confused her. For a moment what little confidence she did feel, slipped.

"W-well, ah, that will foil your plans. I don't know w-what you people are doing but without my help y-you won't succeed and you w-will be caught!"

"Hoho! Nanoha dear, how you fill me with such glee. This is soooo much better then all those years pretending to care about you. But you are naïve to think I need you to finish what we are doing here on Earth."

Scaglietti sighed, he ran his hand along Nanoha's cheek, gently wiping away the tears of fear and frustration that escaped her eyes. He spoke in his gentle tutor's voice.

"You see my dear girl, in just one day, this world, from the perspective of all you insignificant humans, is doomed."

"What are you planning to do. What ever it is, we'll stop your evil plan."

"There is nothing any of you Earthlings can do to stop us."

Scaglietti walked over to a white cabinet with glass doors through which could be seen many bottles and vials of drugs. He opened it and took out a small bottle with a black liquid in it. Opening the bottle, he took the syringe still in his other hand and began filling it with the liquid. He held it up to his face and gave the syringe two flicks with his fingers, squirting out a little liquid. He turned back to Nanoha.

"Let me make clear to you my princess just what is happening. I am Jail Scaglietti, soon to be the rightful master of the universe!" Scaglietti ended his statement with a grand swirl of his hand over his head and an egotistical gleam in his eyes.

"tsh... your crazy."

Nanoha tried to sound mad as she spit out her words, but her voice sounded small even to her own ears. She blushed angrily again at being so weak and helpless.

"Ah, perhaps, my dear but my so called crazy brain has me about to inject you with a substance that will enslave you to my will for the rest of your life. Where has your brilliant 'non-crazy' brain gotten you? hmmmm?"

"..."

"But, I digress. Nanoha I have been alive for more than a millennia, although not always in this form. Let me tell you my story, its a good one that I'm sure (hehehe) will keep you chained to your seat.

**Jail & The Parasite's Back Story...**

My first awareness was of a warm black viscus substance that I lived suspended in along with my brethren, millions of nano parasites. That is how I started, as a being to small for the human eye to see. I don't recall if this was our home planet or not, but it was the place that I first gained awareness. It was a large grey green planet that was on the edges of the known universe. Even though remote, under its dual suns, this was a planet teaming with life, a rich bio sphere. Over time some evolved into species with higher intelligence and even built civilizations. Of course I didn't know this till later. While I lived in the black liquid I only knew darkness and the hive.

Throughout this epoch, we waited in our warm black ooze for first contact. The substance we lived suspended in was located in a remote area of the planet. In this form we were like a swarm of bees, drones really, and at our heart was a queen, like the queen bee, that connected us all telepathically towards a single conscious effort. Our sole purpose was to take over bodies of warm-blooded species so that we could feed and procreate and in that way our species would grow.

The tricky part was getting into the first host body of a warm-blooded species. We had to be ingested through a warm liquid that we can survive in during the transfer. As we had no way to leave our dark world, we had to wait for discovered. Finally a day did come when our queen using her sensors signaled that a host was near.

I remember feeling a disturbance in the ooze that surrounded me. A six limbed furry creature had stepped into our puddle of viscus liquid which now clung to its fur covered legs. After moving a short distance away under the shade of a gnarled tree it sat on its hind legs and began to lick clean its paws. As the ooze got on its tongue and entered its mouth, so did some of my species, (not me though, I remained back in the puddle of black ooze).

Each of the parasites that was ingested by the furry creature began to merge with the host body, quickly moving to the brain because it shelters us from the full fury of the host's immune system which we are vulnerable to. There was another reason we migrate to the brain though, it gave us direct access to alter the host's behavior. Now we had fifty-four hours to transform the host body before our nano parasitic form succumbed to the host body's immune system. Having gained enough control of the body to be able to briefly communicate through its nervous system, the infected beast was made to walk to a location it could hide in while going through gustation

Back in this distant past on our home planet it took almost 48 hours for complete gustation to occur. The host body would fall into a stupor, never to revive again. in this comatose state it would provide the nutrients and DNA material to build a new duplicate body. It would begin within the first hour as the original host body would regurgitate a sack like form, much like a womb, filled with embryonic fluid and attached through the mouth of the host body by an umbilical cord. Over the next forty-five hours a duplicate body forms while the original host is eviscerated.

Inside the duplicate we ourselves are going through a profound metamorphosis from nano parasite into a symbiont being. In this state we attach ourselves to the lower spine and act as the brain of the new body.

At the end of gustation we would completely absorb the host, its original body a dried out husk while we were birthed as a new duplicate being. By hyper stimulating the main sense organ in the brain we would create a telepathic center for communication from the queen to the infected host. In this manner, the new duplicate could communicate with the collective hive and take on the mission to infecting more host bodies.

It took us three days to infest the planet. There were holdouts of course, some grew suspicious. They witnessed one of our few weaknesses - because we used the brain's main sense organ for telepathic communication, our duplicate host bodies could no longer use it as a sensory organ, thus we did not have the ability to show or express emotions. Some of those we had not yet infected saw this, and realized what was happening. They started a resistance fight, but it was already futile.

Within a few months from the first infected host, that six-legged creature that had the misfortune to step into our little puddle of black ooze, there were no more host bodies left on the planet. Of course this exposed our true fatal flaw. We were veracious in our appetite to consume host species, but once we had, we had no way to continue to grow. Our replica host bodies were sterile.

We had one other flaw that led to our eventual collapse as a species - once we had infected a host and as we created the new duplicate host body to live in, we absorbed all the memories of the host. This gave us the same abilities of the host, at least up till the point of our infection into their bodies. What we could not do was create new memories, build on new experience, or gain new knowledge. Those of us who took over the bodies of young children, remained with the mind of a child, even as their new duplicate bodies grew and aged. Those who had infected the feeble-minded, or species with lesser intelligence stayed that way till the day they died. And we did die. We could only live the normal life expectancy of the species we had infected.

Much time passed. How much is not clear, but long enough that the civilizations that had once flourished on our planet had fallen to ruin and decay. There were no longer any warm-blooded species left, only the reptiles and bugs. And those of us that still remained in the darkness of the black ooze continued on, not even aware that so much time had passed.

Then one day, he came, and it changed everything.

**XXXXXXXX**

He stepped out of his house door to see his family waiting for him in front of their vehicle. He smiled when he saw his little girl's pink hair scrunched under a large white beret with a black band running across it and yellow triangular symbols on its side. It was her favorite hat and she wore it everywhere. He looked down at the identical hat in his hands, only his had a red circular symbol on its side. She had given it to him as a father's day present, and while it did look rather silly atop his head of long flowing purple hair, he could manage the teasing he knew his wife Megane was bound to put him through if it made his little girl smile.

He sauntered over to them and opened the back door of their vehicle so the children could climb in. After he made sure both his daughters, Caro and Lutecia were buckled up, he closed the back door then opened the front door and held out his hand to help his wife in.

"How chivalrous of you my dear, with that helmet of yours it's like you are a knight in white armor." She smiled teasingly at him before placing a light kiss on his left cheek then stepped into the car. He closed her door and almost skipped to the driver's side till he realized that it might diminish his knightly look...

"Hey wait a minute... that was a tease right?" Jail mumbled to himself. He looked over at his wife as he was getting into the driver seat and saw her trying to hide a giggle behind her hand. He pouted.

"Ah, don't be silly dear, to me you are indeed my knight." She leaned over, turned his face towards hers and gave a soft chaste kiss upon his lips. As she pulled back she saw a smile come to his face.

"Thank you my princess." He gave her a loving look.

"Daddy..."

"Yes Lu-Chan?" He looked into his rearview mirror at his other daughter who's long hair was the same color as his, and smiled.

"How come you wear Caro-onee's hat, but you don't wear anything of mine?" She pouted at him.

He heard his wife giggle again and frowned. Something was up.

"Well I would love to wear something of your's too Lu-Chan, did you have something in mind?"

He noted her face pucker up in concentration as she thought about it.

"I know Daddy," she said while she peeled off one of her gloves, "I want you to wear Asclepius! That's what I named my magical gloves. I can wear one, and you can wear the other, that way we will be the same!" She was very excited about her idea and almost shouted the last part of her request.

Jail looked at the purple and black glove his daughter had taken off and was now passing up front to him. On its back was a plastic dome that he knew already would glow when he shook his hand for thirty seconds. His daughter liked to dress up as a "magical girl" and play make-believe that she could summon creatures and command them. He knew how much she loved her "magic gloves" and was touched that she would want to share them with him.

"I'm not sure Lu-honey, I don't think your gloves will fit me."

"But Daddy, it says 'one size fits all' on the label inside." She said in a bit of a whinny voice

"Okay, okay then, let me try to put it on."

Jail pulled on the glove which while tight, he was able to get over most of his palm. As he finished, he saw out of the corner of his eye his wife putting red lipstick on. Once done she leaned back over towards him again. He thought she was going to kiss him, this time maybe a little less chaste than the last, so he turned his head towards her and closed his eyes. But the kiss never came, at least to his lips. Instead, Megane had leaned down, grasped his shirt's white collar and planted a lipstick kiss on it. When she pulled back, a red lipstick kiss was painted on his collar.

"There, now you have something to wear of mine too." She looked as happy as a cat who had just caught a mouse.

'Wha..." Jail blushed. "You know we are going into work..."

"Yes dear, but it is family day, I am sure your subordinates will still respect you. Oh, and if they don't, just come to me... after all, there has to be some advantage to being married to the boss." She gave that Cheshire grin again.

Jail was at a loss for words. He knew his lab assistants and fellow scientists - he was going to be teased endlessly for this. But as he drove them over to the facility, he couldn't help but smile.

**JSJSJSJSJS**

No sooner had they arrived at the lab and Jail stepped out of the car, then the teasing started.

"Nice look Jail!" "You should dress like that for work more often!" "Whose lipstick is that on your collar Jail?" "Don't let your wife catch you!"

Jail just pouted and grumbled a bit till Caro took his ungloved hand, and Lu-Chan his gloved hand into her own gloved hand.

"Don't mind them honey," Megane purred as she batted her eyes at him. "I think you look sexy like this." and she brushed her hand across his cheek before leaning in and kissing him. Jail's cheeks flamed red.

When they turned to walk towards the facility Jail noticed Megane's smile change for a moment into a frown. He followed her eyes to the set of TSAB military vehicles that were lined up next to the building. He looked back at her and she gave him a weak smile.

"It's alright honey, I am sure they are just here for the day's events." He tried to reassure her.

"Your right, I'm sorry to worry you." And with that her smile brightened a bit more, but it didn't quite reach her eyes he noticed.

After spending all morning showing their children the different gadgets that were on display in the reception area of the facility they worked at, explaining carefully the purpose of each; and after escorting them through one of the labs that had been opened for family visits, listening to a guide explaining to the children what kinds of experiments the scientists worked on there; and after watching a short movie about the work at the facility, (The girls had squealed gleefully when their mother had a small part , making Jail beam himself), and after special commendations presented to several scientists, including Jail, by the higher-ups at TSAB who they all worked for, (Megane was the loudest to applause); it was time for the picnic and family games out on the facility's lawn.

This is what the girls had been waiting for and they pushed their father along to get in line for sandwiches and drinks, all the while talking about which game they wanted to play first. Jail looked around just in time to see Megane walking back indoors with several of the bigwigs from TSAB headquarters. She turned to look at him and smiled, waving her hand. He waved back but then was distracted by Caro who wanted help picking out her sandwich.

...

...

"Where's Mommy?" Lu-Chan asked.

"Well your Mom got called in by her bosses. Still, I don't know what is taking her so long." It had been over a half hour. The girls were anxious to start the picnic meal they had put together.

Jail was starting to get anxious too. Over the past several months Megane had confided in him that the TSAB had put the military in charge of their research and that they were pushing for faster results. She was having a hard time getting them to accept the importance for doing long term trials and of following safety precautions that slowed down their results. After all, if they were successful they would have harnessed the greatest power in the universe.

They knew that the closer they got to completion with their experiment, the more they needed to be slow and cautious, to get everything right. It was at this point that failure could be catastrophic.

Jail saw one of his lab assistants nearby.

"Alto, could you do me a favor and watch my girls for a minute?"

Both girls looked at their father with questions in their eyes. Crouching down to them he spoke softly.

"I'm just going to go and find your Mom and bring her back so we can have our picnic. You two be good girls while I'm gone."

"Okay Dad." Caro said with a bright smile on her face.

"We'll be good Daddy. We'll make Mommy a sandwich while you go get her." Lu-Chan put her arms around Jail's neck.

"That's my girls." Jail straightened back up and turned to Alto,

"It appears the higher-ups don't know what family day is, so I have to go and rescue Megane from their "evil" clutches." Jail gave a fake evil laugh as he did air quotes.

Alto nodded her head and smiled. "Poor Megane-san. It's tough being the boss sometimes. And, from the look of your attire, it must be tough to be a family man sometimes too." She laughed.

"Yeah, tell me about it," Jail scratched the back of his head.

"I'll watch them, you go bring our boss back safe and sound so she can enjoy this day too. She deserves it, if for no other reason then the wonderful lip art she placed on your collar."

"Thanks, I think." Jail tipped his hat at Alto, waved bye to the girls, and then raced off to the entrance of the facility in search of his wife.

**JSJSJSJSJS**

Jail found Megane and the TSAB military personnel in the control room to the Quantum Singularity Chamber. He paused. He stood in the hallway just before the door to the control room which was open. On the other side of the doorway, the control room had a glass wall so people passing through the halls could view the work going on inside. Across the hall from the control room was a door with the words FAILSAFE SHELTER stenciled on it. It was the emergency evacuation room, designed to withstand up to two times the destructive energy that might happen in the event of a total meltdown of the project.

Jail stood and listened in on their conversation.

"...but sir, you can't really mean you want to do a full scale test. I know we are doing well, but there are still some variables not yet fully made accountable for. I feel it isn't prudent to go to the final level in the ..."

The TSAB general waved his hand as if to brush off Megane's words. "The variables in your report are within normal testing range as based on TSAB protocol."

"That's true General Phils, but this is not an ordinary experiment. We are producing a quantum singularity to harness the power of a super nova. No one has done this before. If it is not properly contained we could destroy half of the planet. We need to set up proper safety protocols first. The plan is to test off planet"

"The TSAB High Council feels your experiment has reached the point that it must prove itself. We have urgent needs for its use, but if it is not stable and cannot produce positive results then we must look to other programs we are working on and put our resources into those."

"I know we are taking some time to finish our work, but General Phils, if you just give us a bit more time I know we can pull it off. Think what it will mean when we can save planets from the destructive force of their suns going super nova. I mean the good we can do, the TSAB can do..."

"Enough! The military isn't interested in that. We need a powerful weapon if we are to conquer Belka territory. Now, we will begin the test. I have my technical staff with me to assist you."

"Wha..." Megane was cut off.

"WHAT?" Shouted Jail as he stormed into the control room. "This is not a weapon. This device will bring stability to planets that are threatened with destruction from their suns. We will not let you misuse it."

General Phils raised one eyebrow as his look became stern. "This device will be used as the TSAB High Council sees fit, whether we choose to save planets with it, or destroy them. Now, will you get on with the final test?"

"No!" Megane and Jail answered together.

"Fine, I had planned for this probable outcome of our discussion. Just step back out of the way."

Megane and Jail were pushed to the back of the room where a military guard stood beside them. They watched helplessly as the TSAB technicians began prepping the singularity chamber for a full power final test run. Finally after several minutes the chief engineer turned to the general.

"General Phils, sir. Everything is set, standby go. Ready to proceed on your orders."

"Please... don't do it! If something goes wrong it will kill our families!"

General Phils looked back at Jail who had just yelled out begging for them to stop. He ignored the purple haired scientist, looking past him, through the glass wall that was to Jail's back, and to a door marked 'FAILSAFE SHELTER'. A green light was lit above the door. The general nodded to himself all was good to go.

"Captain Lowran," the general turned back to his chief engineering officer, "you may proceed."

The officer saluted the general, quickly turned and began giving orders for the final sequence to initiate fusion within the reactor for the Quantum Singularity Chamber. The reactor came online - matter and antimatter collided, both being completely annihilated in the process of creating an explosion of pure radiation that traveled outwards into the Quantum Singularity Chamber at the speed of light.

And that's how long it took for something to go wrong, very wrong.

**{MGLN~MGLN~MGLN}**

**A/N:** Well by now you realize this has taken on another spin - plus my whole ten chapters 10000 words is like - crap. I do finally see a path we are headed down and I hope you will stay with me.

I loved writing this even though it seems we are even further away from any romance. I am sorry, I thought I would be there by now. Should I change the genre indicators? I do have honest intentions for Nanoha and Fate... If they live that is!

Thank you all for reading, reviewing, favoring and following my story. It does motivate me greatly to hear your thoughts on the story. I am happy for any constructive criticisms you might have or any suggestions/ideas for the story.

**_Please review! It really motivates me to know what you're thoughts are and if you care for me to continue._**

Next chapter will end Jail/alien backstory and we will be back with our heroines and company.

Wonder what my next first sentence will be...


End file.
